Photocathode

A photocathode is a surface engineered to convert light (photons) into electrons using the photoelectric effect. Photocathodes are important in accelerator physics where they are used inside of a photoinjector to generate high brightness electron beams. Electron beams generated with photocathodes are commonly used for free electron lasers and for ultrafast electron diffraction. Photocathodes are also commonly used as the negatively charged electrode in a light detection device such as a photomultiplier or phototube.
Important Properties.
Quantum Efficiency (QE).
Quantum efficiency is a unitless number that measures the sensitivity of the photocathode to light. It is the ratio of the number of electrons emitted to the number of incident photons. This property depends on the wavelength of light being used to illuminate the photocathode. For many applications, QE is the most important property as the photocathodes are used solely for converting photons into an electrical signal.
Quantum efficiency may be calculated from photocurrent (formula_1), laser power (formula_2), and either the photon energy (formula_3) or laser wavelength (formula_4) using the following equation.
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Mean Transverse Energy (MTE) and Thermal Emittance.
For some applications, the initial momentum distribution of emitted electrons is important and the mean transverse energy (MTE) and thermal emittance are popular metrics for this. The MTE is the mean of the squared momentum in a direction along the photocathode's surface and is most commonly reported in units of milli-electron volts.
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In high brightness photoinjectors, the MTE helps to determine the initial emittance of the beam which is the area in phase space occupied by the electrons. The emittance (formula_7) can be calculated from MTE and the laser spot size on the photocathode (formula_8) using the following equation.
formula_9
where formula_10 is the rest mass of an electron. In commonly used units, this is as follows.
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Because of the scaling of transverse emittance with MTE, it is sometimes useful to write the equation in terms of a new quantity called the thermal emittance. The thermal emittance is derived from MTE using the following equation.
formula_12
It is most often expressed in the ratio um/mm to express the growth of emittance in units of um as the laser spot grows (measured in units of mm).
Outside of accelerator physics, MTE and thermal emittance play a role in the resolution of proximity focused imaging devices which use photocathodes. This is important for applications such as image intensifiers, wavelength converters, and the now obsolete image tubes.
Lifetime.
Many photocathodes require excellent vacuum conditions to function and will become "poisoned" when exposed to contaminates. Additionally, using the photocathodes in high current applications will slowly damage the compounds as they are exposed to ion back-bombardment. These effects are quantified by the lifetime of the photocathode. Cathode death is modeled as a decaying exponential as a function of either time or emitted charge. Lifetime is then the time constant of the exponential.
Uses.
For many years the photocathode was the only practical method for converting light to an electron current. As such it tends to function as a form of 'electric film' and shared many characteristics of photography. It was therefore the key element in opto-electronic devices, such as TV camera tubes like the orthocon and vidicon, and in image tubes such as intensifiers, converters, and dissectors. Simple phototubes were used for motion detectors and counters.
Phototubes have been used for years in movie projectors to read the sound tracks on the edge of movie film.
The more recent development of solid state optical devices such as photodiodes has reduced the use of photocathodes to cases where they still remain superior to semiconductor devices.
Construction.
Photocathodes operate in a vacuum, so their design parallels vacuum tube technology. Since
most cathodes are sensitive to air the construction of photocathodes typically occurs after the enclosure has been evacuated. In operation the photocathode requires an electric field with a nearby positive anode to assure electron emission.
Photocathodes divide into two broad groups; transmission and reflective. A transmission type is typically a coating upon a glass window in which the light strikes one surface and electrons exit from the opposite surface. A reflective type is typically formed on an opaque metal electrode base, where the light enters and the electrons exit from the same side. A variation is the double reflection type, where the metal base is mirror-like, causing light that passed through the photocathode without causing emission to be bounced back for a second try. This mimics the retina on many mammals.
The effectiveness of a photocathode is commonly expressed as quantum efficiency, that being the ratio of emitted electrons vs. impinging quanta (of light). The efficiency varies with construction as well, as it can be improved with a stronger electric field.
Coatings.
Although a plain metallic cathode will exhibit photoelectric properties, the specialized coating greatly increases the effect. A photocathode usually consists of alkali metals with very low work functions.
The coating releases electrons much more readily than the underlying metal, allowing it to detect the low-energy photons in infrared radiation. The lens transmits the radiation from the object being viewed to a layer of coated glass. The photons strike the metal surface and transfer electrons to its rear side. The freed electrons are then collected to produce the final image.