Low-temperature dephasing in disordered conductors: experimental aspects

TL;DR

This paper reviews experimental challenges in measuring dephasing times at very low temperatures in disordered conductors, discussing fundamental limits, observed saturation effects, and recent insights into electron-phonon interactions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of experimental factors affecting dephasing time measurements and discusses recent advances in understanding electron-phonon interactions in disordered systems.

Findings

Identification of fundamental limits to dephasing time measurement

Analysis of causes for saturation of dephasing times in experiments

Discussion of recent progress in electron-phonon interaction understanding

Abstract

What is the lowest temperature to which one can trace the growth of the dephasing time in low-dimensional conductors? I consider the fundamental limitation, the crossover from weak to strong localization, as well as several experimental reasons for frequently observed saturation of the dephasing time (hot-electron effects, dephasing by external noise). Recent progress in our understanding of the electron-phonon interaction in disordered conductors is also briefly discussed.