skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Electron photoemission with tunable excitation and transport energetics

Patent ·
OSTI ID:1568723

A photocathode for use in vacuum electronic devices has a bandgap gradient across the thickness (or depth) of the photocathode between the emitting surface and the opposing surface. This bandgap gradient compensates for depth-dependent variations in transport energetics. When the bandgap energy EBG(z) is increased for electrons with shorter path lengths to the emitting surface and decreased for electrons with longer path lengths to the emitting surface, such that the sum of EBG(z) and the scattering energy is substantially constant or similar for electrons photoexcited at all locations within the photocathode, the energies of the emitted electrons may be more similar (have less variability), and the emittance of the electron beam may be desirably decreased. The photocathode may be formed of a III-V semiconductor such as InGaN or an oxide semiconductor such as GaInO.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
Assignee:
Triad National Security, LLC (Los Alamos, NM)
Patent Number(s):
10,381,187
Application Number:
15/675,607
OSTI ID:
1568723
Resource Relation:
Patent File Date: 08/11/2017
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (4)