Study of spectral response characteristics of negative electron affinity GaN photocathode

Aiming at determining the quantum efficiency of fully activated negative electron affinity(NEA) GaN photocathodes, we have investigated the spectral response of NEA GaN photocathodes by using a dedicated ultraviolet spectral response measurement instrument. The quantum efficiency curve of reflection-mode NEA GaN photocathode has been obtained in the band region from 230nm to 400nm. The experimental results show that the quantum efficiency of reflection-mode NEA GaN photocathode reaches up to 37.4% at 230 nm, and at 365 nm, which is the threshold of GaN photocathode, the quantum efficiency remains 3.75%. A sharp cutoff characteristic with over two orders of magnitude degradation from 230 nm to 400 nm has been observed. Based on the former research results, the factors influencing quantum efficiency were also comprehensively analyzed in the paper.