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arXiv · 1011.6518

Quasiparticle scattering time in superconducting films: from dirty to clean limit

A. Leo·G. Grimaldi·R. Citro·A. Nigro·S. Pace·R. P. Huebener
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Abstract

We study the quasiparticle energy relaxation processes in superconducting Nb films of different thicknesses corresponding to different electron mean free paths in a state far from equilibrium, that is the highly dissipative flux-flow state driven up to the instability point. From the measured current-voltage curves we derive the vortex critical velocity $v^{*}$ for several temperatures. From the $v^{*}(T)$ values, the quasiparticle energy relaxation time $τ_ε$ is evaluated within the Larkin-Ovchinnikov model and numerical calculations of the quasiparticle energy relaxation rates are carried out to support the experimental findings. Besides the expected constant behavior of $τ_ε(T)$ for the dirty samples, we observe a strong temperature dependence of the quasiparticle energy relaxation time in the clean samples. This feature is associated with the increasing contribution from the electron-phonon scattering process as the dirty limit is approached from the clean regime.

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A. Leo, G. Grimaldi, R. Citro, A. Nigro, S. Pace, R. P. Huebener. 2011-04-06. Quasiparticle scattering time in superconducting films: from dirty to clean limit. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.84.014536

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