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We have successfully fabricated Cu/AlOx-Al/Nb normal-metal/insulator/superconductor tunnel junction devices with a high value of the superconducting gap (up to $\sim 1$ mV), using electron-beam lithography and angle evaporation techniques in the sub-micron scale. The subgap conductance of these junctions shows the expected strong temperature dependence, rendering them suitable for thermometry all the way from 100 mK to 6 K. In addition, some direct electronic cooling of the normal metal was also seen at bias values near the gap edge. The device performance was strongly influenced by the details of the Al layer geometry, with lateral spilling of the aluminium giving rise to strong extra subgap features, and the thickness of Al layer affecting the proximised superconducting gap value of the superconducting Al/Nb bilayer., Comment: 5 pages 3 figures

We have calculated the temperature profiles for phonon heat transport in a suspended membrane with a radially symmetric heat source in the two extreme cases of either fully ballistic or fully diffusive transport. Theoretical results confirm that it is possible to distinguish these two transport mechanisms from the radial temperature profiles alone. Models are also compared to experimental data measured with 40 nm thick, free standing silicon nitride membranes below 1 K by using tunnel junction (SINIS) thermometers. The measured temperature profile is qualitatively in agreement with the ballistic model., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures Revised version, accepted for publication in the Chinese Journal of Physics

We studied experimentally the role of phonon dimensionality on electron-phonon (e-p) interaction in thin copper wires evaporated either on suspended silicon nitride membranes or on bulk substrates, at sub-Kelvin temperatures. The power emitted from electrons to phonons was measured using sensitive normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junction thermometers. Membrane thicknesses ranging from 30 nm to 750 nm were used to clearly see the onset of the effects of two-dimensional (2D) phonon system. We observed for the first time that a 2D phonon spectrum clearly changes the temperature dependence and strength of the e-p scattering rate, with the interaction becoming stronger at the lowest temperatures below $\sim$ 0.5 K for the 30 nm membranes., Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. in press

We have studied thermal gradients in thin Cu and AlMn wires, both experimentally and theoretically. In the experiments, the wires were Joule heated non-uniformly at sub-Kelvin temperatures, and the resulting temperature gradients were measured using normal metal-insulator-superconducting tunnel junctions. The data clearly shows that even in reasonably well conducting thin wires with a short ($\sim 10 \mu$m) non-heated portion, significant temperature differences can form. In most cases, the measurements agree well with a model which includes electron-phonon interaction and electronic thermal conductivity by the Wiedemann-Franz law., Comment: J. Low Temp. Phys. in press

We have used normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junction pairs, known as SINIS structures, for ultrasensitive thermometry at sub-Kelvin temperatures. With the help of these thermometers, we have developed an ac-technique to measure the electron-phonon (e-p) scattering rate directly, without any other material or geometry dependent parameters, based on overheating the electron gas. The technique is based on Joule heating the electrons in the frequency range DC-10 MHz, and measuring the electron temperature in DC. Because of the nonlinearity of the electron-phonon coupling with respect to temperature, even the DC response will be affected, when the heating frequency reaches the natural cut-off determined by the e-p scattering rate. Results on thin Cu films show a $T^{4}$ behavior for the scattering rate, in agreement with indirect measurement of similar samples and numerical modeling of the non-linear response., Comment: to appear in Phys. Stat. Solidi (2005)

We have studied the electron-phonon (e-p) interaction in thin Cu and Au films at sub-Kelvin temperatures with the help of the hot electron effect, using symmetric normal metal-insulator-superconductor tunnel junction pairs as thermometers. By Joule heating the electron gas and measuring the electron and the lattice temperatures simultaneously, we show that the electron-phonon scattering rate follows a $T^{4}$ temperature dependence in both metals. The result is in accordance with the theory of e-p scattering in disordered films with vibrating boudaries and impurities, in contrast to the $T^{3}$-law expected for pure samples, and $T^{2}$-law for static disorder., Comment: to appear in Phys. Stat. Solidi (2005)

We have used symmetric normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junction pairs, known as SINIS structures, for ultrasensitive thermometry in the temperature range 50 - 700 mK. By Joule heating the electron gas and measuring the electron temperature, we show that the electron-phonon (e-p) scattering rate in the simplest noble metal disordered thin films (Cu,Au) follows a $T^4$ temperature dependence, leading to a stronger decoupling of the electron gas from the lattice at the lowest temperatures. This power law is indicative e-p coupling mediated by vibrating disorder, in contrast to the previously observed $T^3$ and $T^2$ laws., Comment: 5 pages 4 figures