Laser short-pulse heating of silver-chromium assembly: Improved formulation of electron kinetic theory approach

Laser short-pulse heating of a two-layer assembly consisting of silver ( 40 nm thick) at the top, and chromium ( 800 nm) at the bottom, is considered, and the temperature field in the electron as well as electron subsystems is predicted. An improved formulation of the electron kinetic theory approach accommodating the ballistic contribution of electrons to energy transport is used when modeling the heating. In addition, electron and lattice temperatures in silver and chromium as a single substrate are predicted for comparison. It is found that the chromium layer situated below the silver layer modifies significantly the temperature rise in the silver layer. This situation is also observed for the Seebeck coefficient.