Influence of surface carbon on the performance of cesiated p-GaN photocathodes with high quantum efficiency

Abstract This study shows residual surface carbon’s influence on photocathodes’ quantum efficiency based on p-GaN grown on sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. An X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) built in an ultrahigh vacuum system allowed the in-situ monitoring of the photocathode surface beginning immediately after their cleaning and throughout the activation and degradation processes. An atomically clean surface is necessary to achieve a negative electron affinity, which is the main prerequisite for high quantum efficiency. The p-GaN samples were cleaned with ethanol and underwent a sub-sequential thermal vacuum cleaning. Although carbon and oxygen contaminations are expected to be undesired impurities from the metal organic chemical vapor deposition, which remained on the surface, p-GaN could still form a negative electron affinity surface when exclusively activated with cesium. After the activation with cesium, a shift to a higher binding energy of the photoemission peaks was observed, and a new species, a so-called cesium carbide, was formed, growing over time. The XPS data elucidated the critical role of these cesium carbide species in photocathode degradation. The X-ray damage to the p-GaN:Cs photocathodes, especially the influence on the cesium, was additionally discussed.