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Polarization Possibilities of Small Spin-Orbit Interaction in Strained-Superlattice Photocathodes

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/992984· OSTI ID:992984

Strained-superlattice photocathodes based on InGaP/GaAs were investigated. The photocathode performance is found highly dependent on the superlattice parameters. The electron confinement energy in superlattice appears important. The strained-superlattice structure based on GaAsP/GaAs, with a maximum polarization as high as 90% and more than 1% quantum efficiency, is presently the prime candidate for the ILC polarized electron photocathodes. A recent systematic study shows, however, that the peak polarization seems saturated even though the heavy-hole (HH) and light-hole (LH) band splitting is increased significantly, indicating that there is a material specific spin relaxation mechanism. It is widely accepted that the D'yakonov-Perel mechanism is the dominant spin relaxation mechanism in the III-V compound superlattice structures with a low p-doping ({le} 10{sup 17} cm{sup -3}), and that the spin relaxation may be reduced by choosing a material with a smaller spin-orbit interaction. As the spin-orbit interaction in phosphides is much smaller than in arsenides, strained-superlattice structure based on InGaP/GaAs were investigated. The computer code SPECCODE developed by Subashiev and Gerchikov has been used for calculating the band structures in superlattice.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC)
Sponsoring Organization:
US DOE Office of Science (DOE SC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
992984
Report Number(s):
SLAC-PUB-14128
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English