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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. B » Volume 71 » Issue 23
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Phys. Rev. B 71, 233104 (2005) [4 pages]

Measurement of hot electron momentum relaxation times in metals by femtosecond ellipsometry

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V. V. Kruglyak* and R. J. Hicken
School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QL, United Kingdom

M. Ali and B. J. Hickey
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom

A. T. G. Pym and B. K. Tanner
Department of Physics, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom

Received 28 February 2005; published 16 June 2005

Time-resolved ellipsometric measurements were made upon Au, Cu, Ag, Ni, Pd, Ti, Zr, and Hf thin films. Using an elliptically polarized pump beam, the decay of the optically induced polarization of the sample was observed. Characteristic relaxation times are extracted and interpreted in terms of scattering of linear and angular momentum of hot electrons. A systematic variation is observed between different metals that reflects their underlying band structure.

© 2005 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevB.71.233104
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevB.71.233104
PACS:
78.47.+p, 42.65.−k, 78.20.Ls

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Email address: V.V.Kruglyak@exeter.ac.uk

 
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