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Title: Towards photocathodes with elongated lifetimes and high quantum efficiency by passivating with two dimensional materials

Abstract

Photocathodes are key components of electron injectors for X-ray free electron laser and X-ray energy recovery linacs, which generate brilliant, ultrafast, and coherent X-rays for the exploration of matter with ultrahigh resolutions in both space and time. Whereas alkali-based semiconducting photocathodes display a higher quantum efficiency (QE) in the visible light spectrum than their metallic counterparts, their lifetimes are much shorter due to the high reactivity of alkali-based surfaces to the residual gases in the vacuum chamber. Overcoming the tradeoff between QE and lifetimes has been a great challenge in the accelerator community. Here in this paper, based on ab initio density functional calculations, we propose an approach to overcome this tradeoff by coating with atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials. On one hand, the 2D coating layers can enhance the lifetimes of photocathodes by preventing the chemical reactions with the residual gases. On the other hand, the 2D coating layers can effectively engineer the work function of photocathodes, thus controlling their QE. A monolayer of insulating BN reduces the work function, whereas a monolayer of semi-metallic graphene or semiconducting molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) increases the work function. This phenomenon originates from the induced interfacial dipoles. The reduction of work function bymore » BN implies that it is capable of maintaining the high QE of semiconducting photocathodes in addition to enhance their lifetimes. This study advances our understandings on the surface chemistry of coated photocathodes and opens new technological avenues to fabricate photocathodes with high QE and longer lifetimes.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
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  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
OSTI Identifier:
1471353
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-17-26824
Journal ID: ISSN 2397-7132 (Electronic)
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-06NA25396
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
npj 2D Materials and Applications
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2397-7132 (Electronic)
Publisher:
Springer Nature
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats

Wang, Gaoxue, Yang, Ping, Moody, Nathan Andrew, and Batista, Enrique Ricardo. Towards photocathodes with elongated lifetimes and high quantum efficiency by passivating with two dimensional materials. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1038/s41699-018-0062-6.
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Wang, Gaoxue, Yang, Ping, Moody, Nathan Andrew, & Batista, Enrique Ricardo. Towards photocathodes with elongated lifetimes and high quantum efficiency by passivating with two dimensional materials. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41699-018-0062-6
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Wang, Gaoxue, Yang, Ping, Moody, Nathan Andrew, and Batista, Enrique Ricardo. Mon . "Towards photocathodes with elongated lifetimes and high quantum efficiency by passivating with two dimensional materials". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41699-018-0062-6. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1471353.
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@article{osti_1471353,
title = {Towards photocathodes with elongated lifetimes and high quantum efficiency by passivating with two dimensional materials},
author = {Wang, Gaoxue and Yang, Ping and Moody, Nathan Andrew and Batista, Enrique Ricardo},
abstractNote = {Photocathodes are key components of electron injectors for X-ray free electron laser and X-ray energy recovery linacs, which generate brilliant, ultrafast, and coherent X-rays for the exploration of matter with ultrahigh resolutions in both space and time. Whereas alkali-based semiconducting photocathodes display a higher quantum efficiency (QE) in the visible light spectrum than their metallic counterparts, their lifetimes are much shorter due to the high reactivity of alkali-based surfaces to the residual gases in the vacuum chamber. Overcoming the tradeoff between QE and lifetimes has been a great challenge in the accelerator community. Here in this paper, based on ab initio density functional calculations, we propose an approach to overcome this tradeoff by coating with atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials. On one hand, the 2D coating layers can enhance the lifetimes of photocathodes by preventing the chemical reactions with the residual gases. On the other hand, the 2D coating layers can effectively engineer the work function of photocathodes, thus controlling their QE. A monolayer of insulating BN reduces the work function, whereas a monolayer of semi-metallic graphene or semiconducting molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) increases the work function. This phenomenon originates from the induced interfacial dipoles. The reduction of work function by BN implies that it is capable of maintaining the high QE of semiconducting photocathodes in addition to enhance their lifetimes. This study advances our understandings on the surface chemistry of coated photocathodes and opens new technological avenues to fabricate photocathodes with high QE and longer lifetimes.},
doi = {10.1038/s41699-018-0062-6},
journal = {npj 2D Materials and Applications},
number = 1,
volume = 2,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jun 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Mon Jun 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41699-018-0062-6
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Cited by: 21 works
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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of passivating photocathodes with a coating layer to prevent the residual gas molecules from reaching the surface of photocathodes
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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Structural and electronic properties of multifunctional carbon composites of organometal halide perovskites
    journal, January 2019

    • Klejna, Sylwia
    • Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 7, Issue 43
    • DOI: 10.1039/c9ta06517b

    First-principles many-body study of the electronic and optical properties of CsK2Sb, a semiconducting material for ultra-bright electron sources
    text, January 2018

    • Cocchi, Caterina; Mistry, Sonal; Schmeißer, Martin
    • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
    • DOI: 10.18452/24111
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