Quasiclassical interference between bulk and boundary scattering channels in thin metal films with rough surfaces is discussed. The effective transport time, which is calculated beyond Mathiessen’s approximation, exhibits a nonanalytical dependence on the bulk relaxation time. Interference effects strongly affect the temperature (phonon scattering in the bulk) or concentration (impurity-scattering) dependencies of the conductivity. The results for large bulk free paths ${\mathcal{L}}_b$ and large correlation radii (lateral sizes) $R$ of surface inhomogeneities are described by simple analytical equations. At $R^2\sim a{\mathcal{L}}_b$ we predict a crossover between two asymptotic regimes for interference contributions that are characterized by distinct temperature/concentration dependencies. Experimental implications of our results are discussed.

• Received 29 March 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.245409