High Performance Photocathodes based on Molecular Beam Epitaxy Deposition for Next Generation Photo Detectors and Light Sources

The development of high-performance photocathodes is a key challenge for future accelerator and particle physics applications. In this paper photocathode growth through molecular beam epitaxy is introduced as a promising technique to obtain robust, highly efficient alkali-antimonide based photocathodes. Recent research shows that the quantum efficiency of photocathodes can be significantly enhanced through control of the photocathode crystallinity. Molecular beam epitaxy allows for cost-effective growth of large-area photocathodes with excellent control of the stoichiometry and crystallinity, making photocathodes with peak quantum efficiencies exceeding 35% routine.