No Arabic abstract
The recovering procedure of the electron-phonon interaction (EPI) functions from the additional nonlinearities of the current-voltage curve ($I-V$ curve) of point contacts associated with an excess current is considered. The approach proposed takes into account both inelastic scattering, which causes suppression of the excess current in the reabsorption of nonequilibrium phonons by electrons undergoing Andreev reflection (Andreev electrons), and elastic processes associated with the electron-phonon renormalization of the energy spectrum in a superconductor. The results obtained are systematically expounded for both the ballistic contacts, wherein the second derivatives of the $I-V$ curve in the normal state are proportional to the EPI functions, and inhomogeneous contacts (with dirty constrictions and clean banks), whose second derivatives in the normal state are either free of phonon singularities or weakly pronounced.
The experimentally observed nonlinearities of the current-voltage characteristics (CVCs) of tantalum-based point homo- and hetero- contacts in both normal and superconducting states related to electron-phonon interaction (EPI) were analyzed. It was taken into account that additional nonlinearity of CVCs arising upon contact transition to the superconducting state (superconducting spectral component) is formed not only near the constriction in the region roughly equal to the contact diameter (as is the case for the normal state, and as predicted theoretically for the superconducting state), but also in a markedly larger region that is about the size of the coherence length. In this case, a considerable role in the formation of this superconducting component is played by nonequilibrium phonons with low group velocity, which account for the experimentally observed sharpening of the phonon peaks in the EPI spectra (the second derivatives of the CVCs) during the superconducting transition of the contacts, instead of the theoretically expected peak broadening (spreading), and for the increase in the superconducting contribution to the point contact spectrum in the low and medium energy regions. The high-energy part of the EPI spectrum changes much less significantly during the superconducting transition, which is attributable to suppression of the excess contact current by nonequilibrium quasi-particles. A detailed procedure was proposed for the recovery of the EPI spectral function from the point contact spectrum contribution (the second derivative of the CVC) that arises during the superconducting transition of one or both contacting metals.
The application of inhomogeneous niobium point-contacts in the superconducting stata for reconstructing the electron-phonon interaction function is considered. The method is based on the use of the nonlinearity of current-voltage curve, which is due to the inelastic processes of suppressing excess point contact current when nonequilibrium phonons are scattered from the electrons undergoing Andreev reflection. A new model of background occurrence in point-contact Yanson spectra and some ways to correct this background are proposed.
Lattice contribution to the electronic self-energy in complex correlated oxides is a fascinating subject that has lately stimulated lively discussions. Expectations of electron-phonon self-energy effects for simpler materials, such as Pd and Al, have
Using Ta, 2H-NbSe2 and MgB2 as an example it is shown that it is possible to reconstruct qualitatively a function of the electron-phonon interaction from point-contact spectra in a superconducting state. The limits and the restrictions of this method are also shown. The results obtained are compared with available literature data.
When there is a deviation from the inequality $dll {{l}_{varepsilon }}$ ($d$ is the contact diameter, and ${{l}_{varepsilon }}$ is the energy relaxation length of the electrons), structural features are produced on the current-voltage characteristics of $S-c-N$ contacts at characteristic phonon energies because of the decrease in $Delta $ due to the accumulation of nonequilibrium phonons with low group velocities near the contact.