ELECTRON-PHONON, ELECTRON-ELECTRON AND ELECTRON SURFACE SCATTERING IN METALS FROM BALLISTIC EFFECTS

Ballistic effects are reviewed which allow the determination of scattering rates of local groups of electrons on the Fermi surface of metals. Significant progress in our understanding of scattering mechanisms has been made in the last decade through the improved capabilities of high frequency size effects. The anisotropy of electron phonon scattering has been shown to be a general rule; the electron-electron scattering rate has been measured not only in transition metals, but also in simple metals; new effects have been observed from scattering at the sample surface, supporting theoretical calculations of the electric field distribution near the surface. A detailed comparison is made of experimental scattering rates obtained by different measuring techniques and of experimental and theoretical scattering rates in various metals.