HOT-ELECTRONS IN ISLAND METALLIC-FILMS

Many phenomena observed in island metallic films (IMFs) under laser irradiation (Borsjak et al. 1965, Tomchuk and Fedorovich 1966 a, b, Pagnia and Sotnik 1988) or the passage of an electric current (Benditskii et al. 1986, 1988, Tomchuk 1988) can be understood and consistently interpreted in terms of hot electrons. The energy fed to the IMF is assumed to heat the electron gas while the crystal lattice remains cold. The current heating of electrons leads to large values of Q because of the strong homogeneity of the current inside the IMF. The current flows along some fixed current lines and its density inside these lines is very high. The main factors are discussed determining the possibility of steady-state (stationary) electron heating in IMFs which cannot occur in bulk metal. © 1990 Taylor & Francis Ltd.