Milestone for bERLinPro: photocathodes with high quantum efficiency
Photocathode in superconducting photoinjector system. © J. Kühn/HZB
The superconducting photoinjector system (1): The photocathode (3) is excited by a green laser (2) and emits electrons (4) which are accelerated in the superconducting RF cavity. © Britta Mießen
Photocathode after its production in the preparatory system. © J. Kühn/HZB
A team at the HZB has improved the manufacturing process of photocathodes and can now provide photocathodes with high quantum efficiency for bERLinPro.
Teams from the accelerator physics and the SRF groups at HZB are developing a superconducting linear accelerator featuring energy recovery (Energy Recovery Linac) as part of the bERLinPro project. It accelerates an intense electron beam that can then be used for various applications – such as generating brilliant synchrotron radiation. After use, the electron bunches are directed back to the superconducting linear accelerator, where they release almost all their remaining energy. This energy is then available for accelerating new electron bunches.
Electron source: photocathode
A crucial component of the design is the electron source. Electrons are generated by illuminating a photocathode with a green laser beam. The quantum efficiency, as it is referred to, indicates how many electrons the photocathode material emits when illuminated at a certain laser wavelength and power. Bialkali antimonides exhibit particularly high quantum efficiency in the region of visible light. However, thin films of these materials are highly reactive and therefore very sensitive, so they only work at ultra-high vacuum.
Manufacturing process modified
A HZB team headed by Martin Schmeißer, Dr. Julius Kühn, Dr. Sonal Mistry, and Prof. Thorsten Kamps has now greatly improved the performance of the photocathode so it is ready for use with bERLinPro. They modified the manufacturing process for the photocathodes of cesium- potassium-antimonide on a molybdenum substrate. The new process delivers the desired high quantum efficiency and stability. Studies showed that the photocathodes do not degrade, even at low temperatures. This is a critical prerequisite for operation within a superconducting electron source, where the cathode must be operated at temperatures far below zero.
High quantum efficiency
The physicists were able to demonstrate this performance with detailed studies: Even after its transport via the photocathode transfer system and introduction into the photo injector of the SRF, the quantum efficiency of the photocathode was still about five times higher than necessary to achieve the maximum electron-beam current needed for bERLinPro.
Milestone for bERLinPro
“An important milestone for bERLinPro has been reached. We now have the photocathodes available to generate the first electron beam from our SRF photoinjector at bERLinPro in 2019“, says Prof. Andreas Jankowiak, head of the HZB Institute for Accelerator Physics.
Published in Physical Review Accelerators and Beams (2018): "Addressing challenges related to the operation of Cs-K-Sb photocathodes in SRF photoinjectors"; M. A. H. Schmeisser, S. Mistry, H. Kirschner, S. Schubert, A. Jankowiak, T. Kamps, J. Kühn.
doi:10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.21.113401
- Successful master's degree in IR thermography on solar facadesWe are delighted to congratulate our student employee Luca Raschke on successfully completing her Master's degree in Renewable Energies at the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin - and with distinction!
- BESSY II: Phosphorus chains – a 1D material with 1D electronic propertiesFor the first time, a team at BESSY II has succeeded in demonstrating the one-dimensional electronic properties in phosphorus. The samples consisted of short chains of phosphorus atoms that self-organise at specific angles on a silver substrate. Through sophisticated analysis, the team was able to disentangle the contributions of these differently aligned chains. This revealed that the electronic properties of each chain are indeed one-dimensional. Calculations predict an exciting phase transition to be expected as soon as these chains are more closely packed. While material consisting of individual chains with longer distances is semiconducting, a very dense chain structure would be metallic.
- Did marine life in the palaeocene use a compass?Some ancient marine organisms produced mysterious magnetic particles of unusually large size, which can now be found as fossils in marine sediments. An international team has succeeded in mapping the magnetic domains on one of such ‘giant magnetofossils’ using a sophisticated method at the Diamond X-ray source. Their analysis shows that these particles could have allowed these organisms to sense tiny variations in both the direction and intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field, enabling them to geolocate themselves and navigate across the ocean. The method offers a powerful tool for magnetically testing whether putative biological iron oxide particles in Mars samples have a biogenic origin.