Cesium telluride photocathodes are known to offer high quantum efficiencies under UV illumination combined with good lifetimes compared to other semiconductor photocathodes, making them very popular electron sources for particle accelerator applications. The development of photocathode preparation, characterization, and related expertise at a single accelerator laboratory can be challenging, expensive, and time consuming. Recognizing this, we explored the use of a custom-designed ultrahigh vacuum suitcase for transportation of CERN-made (Switzerland) cesium telluride photocathodes to Daresbury Laboratory (UK) for characterization. We report the synthesis and characterization of a batch of four cesium telluride photocathodes corresponding to our second attempt of transport, following design and process improvements through lessons learned from our first attempt. The photocathode characterization involved, where possible, measurements of the surface elemental composition using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), surface roughness with an in-vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (STM), and quantum efficiency (QE) measurements. Transverse energy distribution curves were obtained over a wide range of illumination wavelengths using the transverse energy spread spectrometer (TESS) at room- and cryogenic temperatures, and the values for mean transverse energy (MTE) were extracted. The photocathodes exhibited distinct thicknesses ranging from -50 to -120 nm and significant MTE beyond the photoemission threshold which is attributed to the presence of CsxO and Cs phases, as confirmed by XPS analysis. The photocathode that exhibited no carbon or oxygen contamination was measured to have the highest QE of 2.9% at a wavelength of 265 nm at the end of the performance characterization process. The results presented herein offer an insight into the achievements possible through international collaborations by successfully utilizing long-distance transportation of photocathodes by land under vacuum conditions.

Oxide-free surfaces of polycrystalline Cu are prepared using acetic acid etching after chemical-mechanical polishing. UV ozone treatment is shown to increase the work function of the cleaned Cu by up to 0.5 eV. There is also a large reduction in quantum efficiency at 265 nm. Cu sheet can be easily masked from ozone exposure by Si or glass, meaning that selected-area oxidation is possible. Oxygen plasma treatment has a similar effect to the UV ozone but is more difficult to mask. There is no increase in surface roughness after oxidation, meaning that the larger work function could significantly reduce dark current in accelerator photocathodes without affecting the desired photoemission region.

The performance expected from the next generation of electron accelerators is driving research into photocathode technology as this fundamentally limits the achievable beam quality. The performance characteristics of a photocathode are most notably: normalised emittance, brightness and energy spread. Ultra–thin oxide films on metal substrates have been shown to lower the work function (WF) of the surface, enhancing commonly utilised metal photocathodes, potentially improving lifetime and performance characteristics. We present the characterisation of two MgO/Cu photocathodes grown at Daresbury. The surface properties such as: surface roughness, elemental composition and WF, have been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The photoemissive properties have been characterised with quantum efficiency (QE) measurements at 266 nm. Additionally, we measure the Transverse Energy Distribution Curves (TEDC) for these photocathodes under illumination at various wavelengths using ASTeC’s Transverse Energy Spread Spectrometer (TESS) and extract the Mean Transverse Energy (MTE).

Metal photocathodes are widely utilized as electron sources for particle accelerators for their ease of use, high durability, and fast response time. However, the high work function (WF) and low quantum efficiency (QE) typically observed in metals necessitate the use of high power deep UV lasers. Metal oxide ultra-thin films on metals offer a route to photocathodes with a lower WF and improved QE while maintaining photocathode durability and response time. We show how the photocathode performance of an Ag(100) single crystal is enhanced by the addition of an ultra-thin MgO film. The film growth and WF reduction of 1 eV are characterized, and the QE and mean transverse energy (MTE) are measured as a function of illumination wavelength. An eightfold increase of QE is achieved at 266 nm without adding to MTE through additional surface roughness, and the resistance of the photocathode to O2 gas is greatly improved.

New alloys from the III-V family are presented. Undoped (0001)-oriented AlGaNAs epitaxial layers with 3%–16% Al and with constant As concentration equals 0.6% were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Photoelectron spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry confirm As incorporation into AlGaN and show that a small amount of As causes valence band (VB) modification. The VB maximum is shifted towards the Fermi level compared to AlGaN. Calculations based on the band anticrossing model shows the band gap of the AlGaNAs is reduced relative to AlGaN but its magnitude is higher than for GaNAs with the same As content. It is also suggested that the VB maximum in (Al)GaNAs alloys in the whole Al concentration in the diluted regime of As concentration is at the same energy on the absolute scale in the first approximation. This study shows the new potential of As in AlGaN-based alloy engineering.