ENHANCED PHOTOEMISSION FROM METAL NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITE THIN FILMS (Ag-BaO) DOPED WITH RARE-EARTH ELEMENTS

A metal nanoparticles\|composite thin film (Ag\|BaO), doped by rare\|earth elements, was grown by vacuum deposition. Compared with the normal Ag\|BaO thin film, the photoemission current of the doped Ag\|BaO thin film increases by about 40%. The transmission electron micrograph indicated that Ag nanoparticles become smaller when doped with rare\|earth. With the smaller size of Ag nanoparticles, photoelectrons are easier to transgress from Ag nanoparticles via tunnel effect. Thus the photomission current increases.