Study of electron focusing in thick GEM based photon detectors using semitransparent photocathodes

The detection efficiency of a GEM based UV sensitive gaseous photomultiplier (GPM) depends on the focusing of electrons from the drift gap to the GEM aperture. We have studied the effect of drift parameters on the efficiency of electron focusing into Thick GEM (THGEM) holes in a GPM with semitransparent UV photoconverter. This study comprises simulation of electron focusing into THGEM holes using GARFIELD for different Ar and Ne based gas mixtures and experimental investigations of the same with P10 gas mixture. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carbon nanotube based photocathodes for high frequency amplifiers

The combination of high frequency, high power, high efficiency capabilities is a feature of vacuum tube technology. For most of applications, large bandwidths are required, and therefore the modulation method should also allow large bandwidth operation. Optically modulated cold cathodes, avoiding the use of resonant cavities, should satisfy this requirement. This is the reason why we have developed carbon nanotube based photocathode.© 2009 IEEE.

Stability and photoemission characteristics for GaAs photocathodes in a demountable vacuum system

The stability and photoemission characteristics for reflection-mode GaAs photocathodes in a demountable vacuum system have been investigated by using spectral response and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements at room temperature. We find that the shape of the spectral response curve for the cathode changes with time in the vacuum system, but after applying fresh cesium to the degraded cathode, the spectral response can almost be restored. The change and restoration of curve shape are mainly attributed to the evolution of the surface barrier. We illustrate the evolution and analyze the influence of the barrier on the spectral response of the cathode. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Stability of GaAs photocathodes under different intensities of illumination

The photocurrent curves of reflection-mode GaAs photocathodes as a function of time, when were illuminated by white light with an intensity of 0, 33 and 100 Ix, respectively, were measured using a multi-information measurement system. The calculated lifetimes of cathodes are 320, 160 and 75 min, respectively, showing that the stability of cathodes degraded with the increase of light intensity. The lifetime of cathode, illuminated by white light with an intensity of 100 Ix, while no photocurrent was being drawn during the illumination, was 100 min. Through comparison, we found that the influence of illumination on cathodes stability is greater than that of photocurrent. The quantum-yield curves of cathodes as a functions of time, when illuminated by white light with an intensity of 33 Ix, were measured also. The measured results show that the shape of the yield curves changes with increasing illumination time due to the faster quantum-yield degradation rate of low energy photons. Based on the revised quantum-efficiency equations for the reflection-mode cathodes, the variation of yield curves are analyzed to be due to the intervalley diffusion of photoelectrons and the evolution of the surface potential barrier profile of the photocathodes during degradation process.

The effect of Be-doping structure in negative electron affinity GaAs photocathodes on integrated photosensitivity

A new structure of GaAs photocathode was introduced. The Be-doping concentration is variable in the new structure compared with the constant concentration of Be in the normal photocathode. Negative electron affinity GaAs photocathodes were fabricated by alternate input of Cs and O. The spectral response results measured by the on-line spectral response measurement system show that the integrated photosensitivity of the photocathodes with the new structure is enhanced by at least 50% as compared to those with the monolayer structure. Accordingly, two main factors leading to the enhanced photosensitivity of the photocathodes were discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Surface Potential Barrier on the Electron Energy Distribution of NEA Photocathodes

By calculating the energy distribution of electrons reaching the photocathode surface and solving the Schrodinger equation that describes the behavior of an electron tunneling through the surface potential barrier,we obtain an equation to calculate the emitted electron energy distribution of transmission-mode NEA GaAs photocathodes. Accord- ing to the equation,we study the effect of cathode surface potential barrier on the electron energy distribution and find a significant effect of the barrier-Ⅰ thickness or end height,especially the thickness,on the quantum efficiency of the cath- ode. Barrier Ⅱ has an effect on the electron energy spread, and an increase in the vacuum level will lead to a narrower electron energy spread while sacrificing a certain amount of cathode quantum efficiency. The equation is also used to fit the measured electron energy distribution curve of the transmission-mode cathode and the parameters of the surface barri- er are obtained from the fitting. The theoretical curve is in good agreement with the experimental curve.

High-Integrated-Photosensitivity Negative-Electron-Affinity GaAs Photocathodes with Multilayer Be-Doping Structures

The effect of changing Be doping concentration in GaAs layer on the integrated photosensitivity for nega- tive-electron-affinity GaAs photocathodes is investigated. Two GaAs samples with the monolayer structure and the muhilayer structure are grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The former has a constant Be concentration of 1 × 10^19 cm^-3, while the latter includes four layers with Be doping concentrations of 1 × 10^19, 7 × 10^18, 4 × 10^18, and 1 × 10^18 cm^-3 from the bottom to the surface. Negative-electron-affinity GaAs photocathodes are fabricated by exciting the sample surfaces with alternating input of Cs and O in the high vacuum system. The spectral response results measured by the on-line spectral response measurement system show that the integrated photosensitivity of the photocathode with the muhilayer structure enhanced by at least 50% as compared to that of the monolayer structure. This attributes to the improvement in the crystal quality and the increase in the surface escape probability. Different stress situations are observed on GaAs samples with monolayer structure and muhilayer structure, respectively.

Sol–gel copper chromium delafossite thin films as stable oxide photocathodes for water splitting

Significant effort is being devoted to the study of photoactive electrode materials for artificial photosynthesis devices. In this context, photocathodes promoting water reduction, based on earth-abundant elements and possessing stability under illumination, should be developed. Here, the photoelectrochemical behavior of CuCrO2 sol–gel thin film electrodes prepared on conducting glass is presented. The material, whose direct band gap is 3.15 eV, apparently presents a remarkable stability in both alkaline and acidic media. In 0.1 M HClO4 the material is significantly photoactive, with IPCE values at 350 nm and 0.36 V vs. RHE of over 6% for proton reduction and 23% for oxygen reduction. This response was obtained in the absence of charge extraction layers or co-catalysts, suggesting substantial room for optimization. The photocurrent onset potential is equal to 1.06 V vs. RHE in both alkaline and acidic media, which guarantees the combination of the material with different photoanodes such as Fe2O3 or WO3, potentially yielding bias-free water splitting devices.

Annealing study of carrier concentration in gradient-doped GaAs/GaAlAs epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We measured the carrier concentration distribution of gradient-doped GaAs/GqAlAs epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy before and after annealing at 600 degrees C, using electrochemical capacitance voltage profiling, to investigate the internal variation of transmission-mode GaAs photocathodes arising from the annealing process. The results show that the carrier concentration increased after annealing. As a result, the total band-bending energy in the gradient-doped GaAs emission layer increased by 25.24% after annealing, which improves the pbotoexcited electron movement toward the surface. On the other hand, the annealing process resulted in a worse carrier concentration discrepancy between the GaAs and the GaAlAs, which causes a lower back interface potential barrier, decreasing the amount of high-energy photoelectrons. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Hole-type gaseous detectors for medical imaging and HEP experiments

This work presents the results on the development of a high pressure Xe gaseous detector envisaging medical imaging. The detector uses two VUV photosensors operating face-to-face, based on the CsI-MHSP with position discrimination capability. The known effect of the charge gain decrease with the gas pressure is compensated with a light gain using the electroluminescence process. Studies of signal amplitude, energy and position resolution are presented. On the second part, gaseous detectors based on THGEM where studied in order to fulfill the requirements of present and future high energy physics experiments. The work is focused on the application of THGEM in RICH detectors elements: a triple THGEM detector using CsI photocathodes in Ne mixtures was suggested. The ion backflow to the photocathode remains a concern and a limitation; to minimize it, the application of a new hole-structure, THCOBRA, was suggested. Preliminary results foresee good perspectives for the successful application of THCOBRA in ion back-flow suppression. This work contains several methods and measurements of the CsI photocathodes behaviour in radiation gaseous detectors. A long discussion on its issues and possible solutions are presented.

Untersuchung von NEA-Photokathoden mittels zeitlich hochauflösender Vermessung von Intensitäts- und Spinpolarisationsverteilungen

Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die Untersuchung von Photokathoden mit negativer Elektronenaffinität (NEA) mittels zeitlich hochauflösender Vermessung der emittierten Ladungs- und Spinpolarisationsverteilungen nach Anregung mit einem ultrakurzen Laserpuls. Untersucht wurden uniaxial deformierte GaAsP-Photokathoden mit dünnen emittierenden Schichten (≤150nm), sowie undeformierte GaAs-Photokathoden mit unterschiedlichen Schichtdicken. Die Untersuchungen wurden an einer 100keV-Elektronenquelle durchgeführt, wie sie am Mainzer Mikrotron (MAMI) zur Erzeugung eines Spinpolarisierten Elektronenstrahls verwendet wird. Mit der Apparatur konnte eine Zeitauflösung von 2,5ps erreicht werden. Es zeigte sich, dass die tatsächliche Antwortzeit der Photokathoden die erreichte Zeitauflösung noch unterschreitet. Eine Depolarisation in den kurzen, wegen der Zeitauflösung auf 2,5ps begrenzten, Elektronenpulsen konnte aber nachgewiesen werden. Weiterhin wurde gezeigt, dass der Polarisationsverlust der emittierten Elektronen bei dünnen Schichten im Wesentlichen auf eine energiekorrelierte Depolarisation beim Durchqueren der Bandbiegungszone zurückzuführen ist. Als weiteres Resultat wird, für die GaAsP-Photokathoden mit einer Schichtdicke von 150nm, eine Obergrenze für die mittlere Emissionszeit von ≤1,25ps angegeben. Daraus ergibt sich nach dem hier verwendeten Diffusionsmodell eine Untergrenze für die Oberflächenrekombinationsgeschwindigkeit an der Bandbiegungszone von S≥1,2·10^7 cm/s.

Collimated Field Emission Beams from Metal Double-Gate Nanotip Arrays Optically Excited via Surface Plasmon Resonance

The generation of collimated electron beams from metal double-gate nanotip arrays excited by near infrared laser pulses is studied. Using electromagnetic and particle tracking simulations, we showed that electron pulses with small rms transverse velocities are efficiently produced from nanotip arrays by laser-induced field emission with the laser wavelength tuned to surface plasmon polariton resonance of the stacked double-gate structure. The result indicates the possibility of realizing a metal nanotip array cathode that outperforms state-of-the-art photocathodes.

Study and development of UV photodetectors envisaging COMPASS RICH-1 upgrade and applications

COMPASS is an experiment at CERN’s SPS whose goal is to study hadron structure and spectroscopy. The experiment includes a wide acceptance RICH detector, operating since 2001 and subject to a major upgrade of the central region of its photodetectors in 2006. The remaining 75% of the photodetection area are still using MWPCs from the original design, who suffer from limitations in gain due to aging of the photocathodes from ion bombardment and due to ion-induced instabilities. Besides the mentioned limitations, the increased luminosity conditions expected for the upcoming years of the experiment make an upgrade to the remaining detectors pertinent. This upgrade should be accomplished in 2016, using hybrid detectors composed of ThGEMs and MICROMEGAS. This work presents the study, development and characterization of gaseous photon detectors envisaging the foreseen upgrade, and the progress in production and evaluation techniques necessary to reach increasingly larger area detectors with the performances required. It includes reports on the studies performed under particle beam environment of such detectors. MPGD structures can also be used in a variety of other applications, of which nuclear medical imaging is a notorious example. This work includes, additionally, the initial steps in simulating, assembling and characterizing a prototype of a gaseous detector for application as a Compton Camera.