Energy relaxation time in NbN and YBCO thin films under optical irradiation

For a systematic study of energy relaxation processes in thin NbN and YBCO films on sapphire substrates, a frequency domain technique has been set up and employed. The magnetron sputtered NbN films of 3 nm to 22 nm thickness and pulsed-laser deposited YBCO films with thicknesses between 20 nm and 45 nm were excited by amplitude-modulated optical radiation (λ = 850 nm). The response spectra were analyzed on basis of the two-temperature model of the energy dynamics in the interacting electron and phonon subsystems at quasi-equilibrium conditions. An increase of the energy relaxation time with increasing film thickness has been obtained for both NbN and YBCO thin film samples.