Abstract

The phenomenon of inequality between the electron and lattice temperatures in metals has been the subject of theoretical investigation for nearly thirty years (1,2). The existence of such a nonequilibrium situation was postulated on the basis of the small specific heat of the electron gas, which is thermally insulated from the lattice for ultrashort time durations. Although electron-phonon (e-p) collision times are on the order of 0.01 psec at room temperature, several collisions between hot electrons (~1 eV) and phonons (~0.02 eV) are required for equilibration (~0.5 psec).

© 1984 Optical Society of America