Negative Electron Affinity (NEA) activated surfaces are required to extract highly spin-polarized electron beams from GaAs-based photocathodes, but they suffer extreme sensitivity to poor vacuum conditions that results in rapid degradation of quantum efficiency. We report on a series of unconventional NEA activations on surfaces of bulk GaAs with Cs, Sb, and O 2 using different methods of oxygen exposure for optimizing photocathode performance. One order of magnitude improvement in lifetime with respect to the standard Cs - O 2 activation is achieved without significant loss of electron spin polarization and quantum efficiency by codepositing Cs, Sb, and O 2. A strained GaAs/GaAsP superlattice sample activated with the codeposition method demonstrated similar enhancement in lifetime near the photoemission threshold while maintaining 90% spin polarization.
Improved lifetime of a high spin polarization superlattice photocathode
Galdi A.Investigation
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2020-01-01
Abstract
Negative Electron Affinity (NEA) activated surfaces are required to extract highly spin-polarized electron beams from GaAs-based photocathodes, but they suffer extreme sensitivity to poor vacuum conditions that results in rapid degradation of quantum efficiency. We report on a series of unconventional NEA activations on surfaces of bulk GaAs with Cs, Sb, and O 2 using different methods of oxygen exposure for optimizing photocathode performance. One order of magnitude improvement in lifetime with respect to the standard Cs - O 2 activation is achieved without significant loss of electron spin polarization and quantum efficiency by codepositing Cs, Sb, and O 2. A strained GaAs/GaAsP superlattice sample activated with the codeposition method demonstrated similar enhancement in lifetime near the photoemission threshold while maintaining 90% spin polarization.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.