Research on Cs/O activation process of near-infrared In0.53Ga0.47As photocathodes

Abstract We report a systematic theoretical investigation on the activation mechanism of near-infrared In0.53Ga0.47As photocathodes. Adsorption energies, dipole moments, work functions, density of states, band structures and electron affinity of Cs/O co-adsorption on (001) surface of In0.53Ga0.47As photocathodes are investigated. First-principles calculation results indicate that the structural stability is greatly enhanced when oxygen atoms adsorb on the Cs-covered surface. The incorporation of oxygen atom helps lower the work function further to achieve the true NEA state. Moreover, two adatom-induced surface dipoles, namely [Csn+-In0.53Ga0.47Asn−] and [Cs+-O2--Cs+], are also adopted to explain the relationship between the adatoms and the substrate. The HOMO and LUMO levels can further move downward and the band bending region is enlarged after Cs/O co-activation. Meanwhile, new energy bands appear in the deep valence band due to the joint effect of Cs 5s, Cs 5p, O 2s and O 2p state electrons. Finally, Cs/O activation experiments are carried out and the photocurrent curves during activation procedure are recorded. The change of photocurrent is closely related to the work function variation, which affects the photoemission of the photocathodes. In order to clearly show the electron affinity, the variation of surface barrier height of InGaAs photocathodes with Cs/O adlayer is also given.