Observation of a crossover of the inelastic electron scattering in Sc100-xAgx thick films

Abstract

We have made a series of thick Sc films doped with different amounts of Ag, which results in a systematic decrease in the resistivities, i.e., disorder, of the films. From measurements of the low-field magnetoresistances and comparison with three-dimensional weak-localization theoretical predictions, the electron dephasing times are extracted in every film. We find a crossover of the inelastic electron process from the critical electron-electron scattering to the electron-phonon scattering as the disorder decreases and the system progressively moves away from the Anderson localization.