Abstract We report on adding a multi-wavelength optical emission and absorption diagnostic to the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) laser diagnostics stand. We have installed a dual-wavelength tunable laser diode absorption spectroscopy (TLDS) system with fiber transport for monitoring the H α Balmer line shape of excited state atomic hydrogen (H n=2 → H n=3 ) at 656.3 nm and the D2 (6 2 S 1/2 → 6 2 P 3/2 ) absorption line of cesium at 852.1 nm. Our optical measurement and fiber transport to/from the ion source provides a non-intrusive method for extracting data from the source’s high voltage environment. Simultaneous collection of TLDS absorption, and optical emission from the Balmer H β and H γ excited states are incorporated into the data collection with a series of narrow-band filters and dichroic mirrors. Our design allows for data collection within the short 833 µs plasma arc pulse. The combination of these measurements allows us to monitor the atomic hydrogen temperature and cesium density during ion source conditioning.

The pursuit to operate photocathodes at high accelerating gradients to increase brightness of electron beams is gaining interests within the accelerator community, particularly for applications such as free electron lasers (FEL) and compact accelerators. Cesium telluride (Cs2Te) is a widely used photocathode material and it is presumed to offer resilience to higher gradients because of its wider band gap compared to other semiconductors. Despite its advantages, crucial material properties of Cs2Te remain largely unknown both in theory and experiments. In this study, we employ first-principles calculations to provide detailed structural, elastic, electronic and transport properties of Cs2Te. It is found that Cs2Te has an intrinsic mobility of 20 cm2/Vs for electrons and 2.0 cm2/Vs for holes at room temperature. The low mobility is primarily limited by the strong polar optical phonon scattering. Cs2Te also exhibits ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of 0.2 W/(m*K) at room temperature. Based on the energy gain/loss balance under external field and electron–phonon scattering, we predict that Cs2Te has a dielectric breakdown field in the range from ~ 60 to ~ 132 MV/m at room temperature dependent on the doping level of Cs2Te. Our results are crucial to advance the understanding of applicability of Cs2Te photocathodes for high-gradient operation.

Understanding performance and limitation of CsTe photocathodes under high field gradients in a radio-frequency gun requires adequate theoretical models for material properties, photoemission and surface morphology. We are developing a suite of models based on Density Functional Theory (DFT), moment and Monte-Carlo (MC) photoemission models, and meso-scale material surface model informed by DFT and Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulations. Our DFT calculations provide detailed structural, elastic, electronic, optical, and transport properties of CsTe for photoemission applications. Temperature, density of states, and thin film optical effects have recently been incorporated in a moment-based photoemission model, while the high field effects for electron transport and emission are being modeled in the MC model. Our meso-scale surface model addresses surface morphology under high field stress and surface heating. Machine-learning technique has also been used to enhance the DFT and MD calculations for CsTe. This poster will present an overview of these theoretical models and their results with applications to the LANL CARIE project and other relevant experiments.

This talk will report on the status of commissioning of the Cathodes And Radio-frequency Interactions in Extremes (CARIE) C-band high gradient photoinjector test facility and other high-gradient C-band research activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The construction of CARIE began in October of 2022. CARIE is powered by a 50 MW 5.712 GHz Canon klystron and will house a high gradient copper RF photoinjector with a high quantum-efficiency cathode and produce an ultra-bright 250 pC electron beam accelerated to the energy of 7 MeV. The klystron was received, installed, and conditioned in 2024. The output of the klystron is connected to a circulator that was conditioned to operate for up to 12 MW of power. The WR187 waveguide line brings the power from the circulator into a concrete vault. The test RF injector is made of copper and does not have cathode plugs. It will be commissioned to validate operation of the CARIE facility in Spring of 2025. The second injector that will accommodate cathode plugs is in fabrication. The designs of the photoinjector and the beamline, and status of the high-power testing of the injector and other C-band components will be presented.

The pursuit to operate photocathodes at high accelerating gradients to increase brightness of electron beams is gaining interests within the accelerator community. Cesium telluride (Cs2Te) is a widely used photocathode material and it is presumed to offer resilience to higher gradients because of its wider band gap compared to other semiconductors. Despite its advantages, crucial material properties of Cs2Te remain largely unknown both in theory and experiments. In this study, we employ first-principles calculations to provide detailed structural, elastic, electronic and transport properties of Cs2Te. It is found that Cs2Te has an intrinsic mobility of 20 cm2/Vs for electrons and 2.0 cm2/Vs for holes at room temperature. The low mobility is primarily limited by the strong polar optical phonon scattering. Cs2Te also exhibits ultralow lattice thermal conductivity of 0.2 W/(m*K) at room temperature. Based on the energy gain/loss balance under external field and electron-phonon scattering, we predict that Cs2Te has a dielectric breakdown field in the range from ~60 MV/m to ~132 MV/m at room temperature dependent on the doping level of Cs2Te. Our results are crucial to advance the understanding of applicability of Cs2Te photocathodes for high-gradient operation.

a wide variety of ways to formulate conceptual systems for electric power generation. This study was restricted to configurations that are potentially suitable for development as small power systems (1 to 10 MWe) in the long term (1990 to 2000), with initial commercialization by the mid-1980s. Cogeneration and total energy systems were beyond the scope of this study. All seven types of collectors were analyzed in conceptual system configurations with Rankine-cycle engines. Because they can operate at particularly high concentration ratios, two of the collectors (the Point Focus Central Receiver and the Point Focus Distributed Receiver) were also analyzed with Brayton-cycle engines. In addition, the latter of the two was analyzed with Stirling-cycle engines. With these engine options, 10 conceptual systems were formulated for analysis. The ranking methodology is described, and results are presented. (WHK)

weight is placed on the inner shell by giving the shell material an appropriate density and applying a global acceleration. In addition to the weight loading, there will also be a pressure loading applied to both end plates as a result of preloading the calorimeter plates compressively. This pressure is estimated to be 20 pSi, and was represented in the model as a uniform pressure applied across each end plate. The large axial force produced by this pressure precludes the possibility of attaching the inner shell to both end plates. Such attachments would be under unreasonably high stress as the plates were preloaded, and the inner shell would be under a state of tension in trying to resist the axial force. In the real structure, the inner shell will be attached to at most one of the end plates. The axial force is then developed solely in the outer shell, which has a considerable area of attachment. To emulate this in the finite model, nodal coupling was used to couple the shell laterally to both end plates and all intermediate discs to ensure weight transfer, but axially the shell was only coupled to one of the end plates. The materials used were assumed to be SS 3011 with a Young's modulus of 28.3 (10{sup 6}) psi. Stresses were evaluated according to the limits and claSSifications of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Division 2, Appendix 11 assuming a maximum allowable stress intensity of 20000 psi for primary membrane stress.

Protection of free-electron sources has been technically challenging due to lack of materials that transmit electrons while preventing corrosive gas molecules. Two-dimensional materials uniquely possess both of required properties. Here, we report three orders of magnitude increase in active pressure and factor of two enhancement in the lifetime of high quantum efficiency (QE) bialkali photocathodes (cesium potassium antimonide (CsK2Sb)) by encapsulating them in graphene and thin nickel (Ni) film. The photoelectrons were extracted through the graphene protection layer in a reflection mode, and we achieved QE of ~ 0.17% at ~ 3.4 eV, 1/e lifetime of 188 h with average current of 8.6 nA under continuous illumination, and no decrease of QE at the pressure of as high as ~ 1 × 10–3 Pa. In comparison, the QE decreased drastically at 10–6 Pa for bare, non-protected CsK2Sb photocathodes and their 1/e lifetime under continuous illumination was ~ 48 h. We attributed the improvements to the gas impermeability and photoelectron transparency of graphene.

During the past decades, much research was directed toward studying energy storage materials such as palladium. Such materials can store hydrogen like a sponge providing lightweight, high-density hydrogen sources that can be used for vehicles and mobile applications. In this paper, we make use of these lightweight storage materials for designing a solid-state negative hydrogen ion source that can be controlled by light. We propose a metasurface design of GaAs patches on a palladium substrate that releases hydrogen atoms and when excited with light, the electrons tunnel from the GaAs to the H atoms producing negative hydrogen ions. The mechanism of our device is modeled using a transfer matrix approach. This work provides for the first time the possibility of having a photo controlled solid-state negative hydrogen ion source that can impact both accelerator-based ion sources as well as energy storage applications.

We report on a method of photoemissive film growth that controls stoichiometry in real time. We show that stoichiometry control using a feedback loop is possible because (a) photoemissive properties exhibit a distinct dependence on the stoichiometric composition and (b) stoichiometric composition strongly depends on the ratio of the incident fluxes. The reported results were obtained on Cs3Sb but are expected to be relevant to other alkali antimonides and tellurides.

We demonstrate the key features of an interference cathode using both simulations and experiments. We deposit Cs3Sb photocathodes on Ag to produce an interference enhanced photocathode with 2–5× quantum efficiency (QE) enhancement using a robust procedure that requires only a smooth metal substrate and QE monitoring during growth. We grow both an interference cathode (Ag substrate) and a typical photocathode (Si reference substrate) simultaneously to confirm that the effects are due to optical interactions with the substrate rather than photocathode composition or surface electron affinity differences. Growing the cathodes until the QE converges shows both the characteristic interference peaks during growth and the identical limiting case where the cathode is “infinitely thick,” in agreement with simulations. We also grow a cathode until the QE on Ag peaks and then stop the growth, demonstrating broadband QE enhancement.

The complexity of photocathode designs and detector materials, and the need to model their performance for short pulse durations, the response to high-frequency photons, the presence of coatings and/or thinness of the absorptive layer, necessitates modifications to three-step and moments models of photoemission that are used in simulation codes. In this study, methods to include input from computationally intensive approaches, such as density functional theory to model optical properties and transfer matrix approaches to treat emission from the surface or transport past coatings, by means of parametric models are demonstrated. First, a technique to accurately represent optical behavior so as to model reflectivity and penetration depth is given. Second, modifications to bulk models arising from the usage of thin film architectures, and a means to rapidly calculate them, are provided. Third, a parameterization to model the impact of wells associated with coatings and surface layers on the transmission probably is given. In all cases, the methods are computationally efficient and designed to allow for including input from numerically intensive approaches that would otherwise be unavailable for simulations.

Quantum efficiency (QE) enhancement in accelerator technology relevant to antimonide photocathodes (K 2 CsSb) is achieved by interfacing them with atomically thin 2D crystal layers. The enhancement occurs in a reflection mode, when a 2D crystal is placed in between the photocathodes and optically reflective substrates. Specifically, the peak QE at 405 nm (3.1 eV) increases by a relative 10%, whereas the long wavelength response at 633 nm (2.0 eV) increases by a relative 36% on average and up to 80% at localized “hot spot” regions when photocathodes are deposited onto graphene‐coated stainless steel. There is a similar effect for photocathodes deposited on hexagonal boron nitride monolayer coatings using nickel substrates. The enhancement does not occur when reflective substrates are replaced with optically transparent sapphire. Optical transmission, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) revealed that thickness, crystal orientation, quality, and elemental stoichiometry of photocathodes do not appreciably change due to 2D crystal coatings. These results suggest that optical interactions are responsible for the QE enhancements when 2D crystal sublayers are present on reflective substrates, and provide a pathway toward a simple method of QE enhancement in semiconductor photocathodes by an atomically thin 2D crystal on substrates.

It is shown that the efficiency of photoelectron emission may be enhanced, several-fold, through optimization of photocathode film thickness and appropriate substrate configuration. Such an enhancement is based on a careful consideration of wave interference effects in the film and the consequent modulation of the absorption profiles and electron emission probabilities. The inadequacy of the well-known Lambert-Beer law for modeling photon absorption in thin films is also discussed.

It is predicted that the quantum efficiency (QE) of photoelectron emission from metals may be enhanced, possibly by an order of magnitude, through optimized surface texture. Through extensive computational simulations, it is shown that the absorption enhancement in select surface groove geometries may be a dominant contributor to enhanced QE and corresponds to localized Fabry–Perot resonances. The inadequacy of extant analytical models in predicting the QE increase, and suggestions for further improvement, are discussed.