We report successful deposition of high quantum efficiency (QE) bialkali antimonide K2CsSb photocathodes on graphene films. The results pave a pathway towards an ultimate goal of encapsulating technologically-relevant photocathodes for accelerator technology with an atomically thin protecting layer to enhance lifetime while minimizing QE losses. A QE of 17 % at ~3.1 eV (405 nm) is the highest value reported so far on graphene substrates and is comparable to that obtained on stainless steel and nickel reference substrates. The spectral responses of the photocathodes on graphene exhibit signature features of K2CsSb including the characteristic absorption at ~2.5 eV. Materials characterization based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the composition and crystal quality of these photocathodes deposited on graphene is comparable to those deposited on a reference substrate.Quantitative agreement between optical calculations and QE measurements for the K2CsSb on free suspended graphene and a graphene coated metal substrate further confirms the high quality interface between the photocathodes and graphene. Finally, a correlation between the QE and graphene quality as characterized by Raman spectroscopy suggests that a lower density of atomistic defects in the graphene films leads to higher QE of the deposited K2CsSb photocathodes.3

The hexagonal structure of graphene gives rise to the property of gas impermeability, motivating its investigation for a new application: protection of semiconductor photocathodes in electron accelerators. These materials are extremely susceptible to degradation in efficiency through multiple mechanisms related to contamination from the local imperfect vacuum environment of the host photoinjector. Few-layer graphene has been predicted to permit a modified photoemission response of protected photocathode surfaces, and recent experiments of single-layer graphene on copper have begun to confirm these predictions for single crystal metallic photocathodes. Unlike metallic photoemitters, the integration of an ultra-thin graphene barrier film with conventional semiconductor photocathode growth processes is not straightforward. A first step toward addressing this challenge is the growth and characterization of technologically relevant, high quantum efficiency bialkali photocathodes on ultra-thin freestanding graphene substrates. Photocathode growth on free-standing graphene provides the opportunity to integrate these two materials and study their interaction. Specifically, spectral response features and photoemission stability of cathodes grown on graphene substrates are compared to those deposited on established substrates. In addition, we observed an increase of work function for the graphene encapsulated bialkali photocathode surfaces, which is predicted by our calculations. The results provide a unique demonstration of bialkali photocathodes on free-standing substrates, and indicate promise towards our goal of fabricating high-performance graphene encapsulated photocathodes with enhanced lifetime for accelerator applications.

We report on a kinetic model that describes the degradation of the quantum efficiency (QE) of Cs3Sb and negative electron affinity (NEA) GaAs photocathodes under UHV conditions. In addition to the generally accepted irreversible chemical change of a photocathode’s surface due to reactions with residual gases, such as O2, CO2, and H2O, the model incorporates an intermediate reversible physisorption step, similar to Langmuir adsorption. This intermediate step is needed to satisfactorily describe the strongly non-exponential QE degradation curves for two distinctly different classes of photocathodes –surface-activated and “bulk,” indicating that in both systems the QE degradation results from surface damage. The recovery of the QE upon improvement of vacuum conditions is also accurately predicted by this model with three parameters (rates of gas adsorption, desorption, and irreversible chemical reaction with the surface) comprising metrics to better characterize the lifetime of the cathodes, instead of time-pressure exposure expressed in Langmuir units.

Photocathodes can benefit from a thin protection layer and attain long-term stability. Graphene is potentially a good candidate for such application. We report direct growth of single-layer graphene on single crystal Cu(110) photocathodes using chemical vapor deposition and the effective protection of copper photocathodes with graphene against degradation under atmospheric conditions. Due to the interaction and charge transfer between graphene and copper, the graphene-protected cathodes have 0.25 eV lower work function and 17% higher quantum efficiency at 250 nm compared with bare Cu cathodes. The graphene coating can protect copper photocathodes from degradation for more than 20 min in an exposure to 200 Torr of air. The validation of graphene-photocathode compatibility opens a new route to the lifetime-extension for photocathodes.

Electron sources are a critical component in a wide range of applications such as electron-beam accelerator facilities, photomultipliers, and image intensifiers for night vision. We report efficient, regenerative and low-cost electron sources based on solution-processed halide perovskites thin films when they are excited with light with energy equal to or above their bandgap. We measure a quantum efficiency up to 2.2% and a lifetime of more than 25 h. Importantly, even after degradation, the electron emission can be completely regenerated to its maximum efficiency by deposition of a monolayer of Cs. The electron emission from halide perovskites can be tuned over the visible and ultraviolet spectrum, and operates at vacuum levels with pressures at least two-orders higher than in state-of-the-art semiconductor electron sources.