Method for determining the electron-phonon and electron-impurity collision frequencies in metals

A method for determining accurate values of the average electron-phonon and the electron-impurity collision frequencies (${\nu }_p$ and ${\nu }_I$) around orbits on the Fermi surface of metals using the radio-frequency size effect is discussed. The effects of an electron making multiple orbits in the sample before being scattered are considered in the derived theory. Measurements of signal amplitude versus temperature were made for one particular orbit on the Fermi surface of copper, and the results were fit to the theory with good agreement. Results for $\frac{{\nu }_p}{T^3}$ and ${\nu }_I$ were obtained for this orbit, and a method for accurately determining the anisotropy of the electron-phonon and electron-impurity collision frequencies over the Fermi surface is proposed.