Physics – Physics Education
Scientific paper
2005-03-09
Physics
Physics Education
16 pages, 9 figures. Replaces earlier version of paper rejected by Am. J. Phys. because of too much content on vacuum systems.
Scientific paper
10.1119/1.2049284
We present an undergraduate lab that investigates weak localization in thin silver films. The films prepared in our lab have thickness, $a$, between 60-200 \AA, a mesoscopic length scale. At low temperatures, the inelastic dephasing length for electrons, $L_{\phi}$, exceeds the thickness of the film ($L_{\phi} \gg a$), and the films are then quasi-2D in nature. In this situation, theory predicts specific corrections to the Drude conductivity due to coherent interference between conducting electrons' wavefunctions, a macroscopically observable effect known as weak localization. This correction can be destroyed with the application of a magnetic field, and the resulting magnetoresistance curve provides information about electron transport in the film. This lab is suitable for Junior or Senior level students in an advanced undergraduate lab course.
Beyer A. D.
Black Eric D.
Koesters M.
Libbrecht Kenneth G.
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