Date of Award

Spring 2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Program/Concentration

Electrical Engineering

Committee Director

Ravindra P. Joshi

Committee Member

Matt Poelker

Committee Member

Helmut Baumgart

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.E55 A66 2011

Abstract

The experiment performed in this research addresses the growth of an alkali antimonide photosensitive film. Research was conducted to understand and develop a growth technique for a unique vapor deposition system in a vacuum environment. Specifically, the grown film will be utilized as a photocathode, and hence quantum efficiency (QE) and photocathode lifetime measurements are conducted. The research presents the successful growth of the binary compound cesium antimonide with achieved quantum efficiency of ~0.07% at ~240V anode bias. This experimental result demonstrated that the deposition technique was reliable in producing a feasible cathode. It further allowed the verification of theoretical alkali antimonide properties. Future work will be to adopt the technique to produce the ternary alkali antimonides, such as cesium potassium antimonide.

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) is currently the primary semiconducting photocathode used for operation in many Free Electron Laser (PEL) particle accelerators such as at the one at Jefferson Laboratory, Newport News, Virginia. However, several alkali antimonides are being pursued as prospective substitutes. These are generally expected to have several properties that make them better alternatives for synchrotron accelerators. These properties include greater lifetimes, greater QE and vacuum quality tolerance compared to GaAs. Therefore, the thesis research measures the QE, lifetime of the alkali antimonide to attempt to verify these attributes. The crystal growth experiments were carried out in the Source Lab of Jefferson Laboratory.

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DOI

10.25777/9q8j-5s94

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