Universal features in the photoemission spectroscopy of high-temperature superconductors
N/A
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
N/A
Not Available
Here, we find a 5 eV satellite in the Ti1s photoelectron spectrum of the transition-metal oxide SrTiO 3 . This satellite appears in addition to the well-studied 13 eV structure that is typically associated with the Ti2p core line. We give direct experimental evidence that the presence of two satellites is due to the crystal-field splitting of the metal 3d orbitals. They originate from ligand 2pt 2 g → metal3dt 2 g and ligand 2pe g → metal 3de g monopole charge-transfer excitations within the sudden approximation of quantum mechanics. This assignment is made by the energetics of the resonant and high-energy threshold behaviors of the TiK–L 2 L 3 Auger decay that follows Ti1s photoionization.
Abstract not provided.
Linear-accelerator-based applications like x-ray free electron lasers, ultrafast electron diffraction, electron beam cooling, and energy recovery linacs use photoemission-based cathodes in photoinjectors for electron sources. Most of these photocathodes are typically grown as polycrystalline materials with disordered surfaces. In order to understand the mechanism of photoemission from such cathodes and completely exploit their photoemissive properties, it is important to develop a photoemission formalism that properly describes the subtleties of these cathodes. Here, the Dowell–Schmerge (D–S) model often used to describe the properties of such cathodes gives the correct trends for photoemission properties like the quantum efficiency (QE) and the mean transverse energy (MTE) for metals; however, it is based on several unphysical assumptions. In the present work, we use Spicer’s three-step photoemission formalism to develop a photoemission model that results in the same trends for QE and MTE as the D–S model without the need for any unphysical assumptions and is applicable to defective thin-film semiconductor cathodes along with metal cathodes. As an example, we apply our model to Cs 3 Sb thin films and show that their near-threshold QE and MTE performance is largely explained by the exponentially decaying defect density of states near the valence band maximum.
While recent experiments provided compelling evidence for an intricate dependence of attosecond photoemission-time delays on the solid’s electronic band structure, the extent to which electronic transport and dispersion in solids can be imaged in time-resolved photoelectron (PE) spectra remains poorly understood. Emphasizing the distinction between photoemission time delays measured with two-photon, two-color interferometric spectroscopy, and transport times, we demonstrate how the effect of energy dispersion in the solid on photoemission delays can, in principle, be observed in interferometric photoemission. In this work we reveal analytically a scaling relation between the PE transport time in the solid and the observable photoemission delay and confirm this relation in numerical simulations for a model system. We trace photoemission delays to the phase difference the PE accumulates inside the solid and, in particular, predict negative photoemission delays. Based on these findings, we suggest a novel time-domain interferometric solid-state energy-momentum-dispersion imaging method.
We tested and compared the stability and usability of three different cathode materials and configurations in a thermionic-based ultrafast electron microscope: (1) on-axis thermionic and photoemission from a custom 100 μm diameter LaB 6 source with a graphite guard ring, (2) off-axis photoemission from the Ni aperture surface of the Wehnelt electrode, and (3) on-axis thermionic and photoemission from a custom 200 μm diameter polycrystalline Ta source. For each cathode type and configuration, including the Ni Wehnelt aperture, we illustrate how the photoelectron beam-current stability is deleteriously impacted by simultaneous cooling of the source following thermionic heating. Furthermore, we demonstrate usability via collection of parallel- and convergent-beam electron diffraction patterns and by formation of the optimum probe size. We find that usability of the off-axis Ni Wehnelt-aperture photoemission is at least comparable to on-axis LaB 6 thermionic emission, as well as to on-axis photoemission [the heretofore conventional approach to ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM) in thermionic-based instruments]. However, the stability and achievable beam currents for off-axis photoemission from the Wehnelt aperture were superior to that of the other cathode types and configurations, regardless of the electron-emission mechanism. Beam-current stability for this configuration was found to be ±1% (one standard deviation from the mean) for 70 min (longest duration tested), and steady-state beam current was reached within the sampling-time resolution used here (~1 s) for 15 pA beam currents (i.e., 460 electrons per packet for a 200 kHz repetition rate). Repeatability and robustness of the steady-state condition were also found to be within ±1% of the mean. We discuss the implications of these findings for UEM imaging and diffraction experiments, for pulsed-beam damage measurements, and for practical switching between optimum conventional TEM and UEM operation within the same instrument.
Abstract We report a novel approach for coherent multi-photon photoemission in the entire Brillouin zone with infrared light that is readily implemented in a laboratory setting. We excite a solid state material, Ag(110), with intense femtosecond laser pulses to excite higher-order multi-photon photoemission; angle-resolved electron spectroscopic acquisition records photoemission at large in-plane momenta involving optical transitions from the occupied to unoccupied bands of the sample that otherwise might remain hidden by the photoemission horizon. We propose this as a complementary ultrafast method to time- and angle-resolved two-color, e.g. infrared pump and extreme ultraviolet probe, photoemission spectroscopy, with the advantage of being able to measure and control the coherent electron dynamics.
It is common practice to describe the coordination of metal atoms in a binding configuration with their nearest neighbors in terms of oxidation state, a measure by which the number of electrons redistributed between atoms forming chemical bonds. In XPS terms, change to an oxidation state is commonly inferred by correlating photoemission signal with binding energy. The assumption, when classifying photoemission signals into distinct spectral shapes, is that a distribution of intensities shifted to lower binding energy is evidence of a reduction in oxidation state. In this Insight note, we raise the prospect that changes in photoemission peak shape may occur without obvious changes, determined by XPS in stoichiometry for a material. It is well known that TiO 2 measured by XPS yields reproducible Ti 2p photoemission peaks. However, on exposing TiO 2 to ion beams, Ti 2p photoemission evolves to complex distributions in intensity, which are particularly difficult to analyze by traditional fitting of bell-shaped curves to these data. For these reasons, in this Insight note, a thin film of TiO 2 deposited on a silicon substrate is chosen for analysis by XPS and linear algebraic techniques. Alterations in spectral shapes created from modified TiO 2 , which might be interpreted as the change in oxidation state, are assessed in terms of relative proportions of titanium to oxygen. It is found through detailed analysis of spectra that quantification by XPS, using procedures routinely used in practice, is not in accord with the typical interpretations of photoemission shapes. The data processing methods used and results presented in this work are of particular relevance to elucidating fundamental phenomena governing the surface evolution of materials-enabled energy processes where cyclic/non-steady usage changes the nature of bonding, especially in the presence of contaminants.
A photocathode device may replenish its photoemissive coating to replace coating material that desorbs/evaporates during photoemission. A linear actuator system may regulate the release of a replenishment material vapor, such as an alkali metal, from a chamber inside the photocathode device to a porous cathode substrate. The replenishment material deposits on the inner surface of a porous membrane and effuses through the membrane to the outer surface, where it replenishes the photoemissive coating. The rate of replenishment of the photoemissive coating may be adjusted using the linear actuator system to regulate performance of the photocathode device during photoemission. Alternatively, the linear actuator system may adjust a plasma discharge gap between a cartridge containing replenishment material and a metal grid. A potential is applied between the cartridge and the grid, resulting in ejection of metal ions from the cartridge that similarly replenish the photoemissive coating.
Photoemission of electrons from solid surfaces into vacuum is routinely used in two configurations: reflection mode, in which light is incident on the emitting surface, and transmission mode, in which light illuminates the photoemissive material from behind. Here, using silicon nitride waveguides integrated beneath a high quantum efficiency cesium antimonide thin film, we demonstrate a new photoemission regime─the evanescent mode photoemission─in which light travels parallel to the surface in the waveguide while evanescently coupling into the thin film to excite and emit photoelectrons. Furthermore, our experiments show that this configuration enables direct visualization of guided optical modes over an unprecedented range (∼100 nm to 1 mm) and allows electron beam shaping at the source with transverse features well below ∼600 nm, establishing evanescent mode photoemission as a new platform for nanoscale optical field mapping and precise generation of electron beams.
Abstract This article characterises the effects of cathode photoemission leading to electrical discharges in an argon gas. We perform breakdown experiments under pulsed laser illumination of a flat cathode and observe Townsend to glow discharge transitions. The breakdown process is recorded by high-speed imaging, and time-dependent voltage and current across the electrode gap are measured for different reduced electric fields and laser intensities. We employ a 0D transient discharge model to interpret the experimental measurements. The fitted values of transferred photoelectron charge are compared with calculations from a quantum model of photoemission. The breakdown voltage is found to be lower with photoemission than without. When the applied voltage is insufficient for ion-induced secondary electron emission to sustain the plasma, laser driven photoemission can still create a breakdown where a sheath (i.e. a region near the electrode surfaces consisting of positive ions and neutrals) is formed. This photoemission induced plasma persists and decays on a much longer time scale ( ∼ 10 s μ s) than the laser pulse length ( 30 ps). The effects of different applied voltages and laser energies on the breakdown voltage and current waveforms are investigated. The discharge model can accurately predict the measured breakdown voltage curves, despite the existence of discrepancy in quantitatively describing the transient discharge current and voltage waveforms.
Next generation ultrabright light sources will operate at megahertz repetition rates with temporal resolution in the attosecond regime. For an X-Ray Free Electron Laser (FEL) to operate at such repetition rate requires a high quantum efficiency (QE) cathode to produce electron bunches of 300 pC per 1.5 μJ incident laser pulse. Semiconductor photocathodes have sufficient QE in the ultraviolet (UV) and the visible spectrum, however, they produce picosecond electron pulses due to the electron-phonon scattering. On the other hand, metals have two orders of magnitude less QE, but can produce femtosecond pulses, that are required to form the optimum electron distribution for high efficiency FEL operation. In this work, a novel metallic photocathode design is presented, where a set of nano-cavities is introduced on the metal surface to increase its QE to meet the FEL requirements, while maintaining the fast time response. Photoemission can be broken up into three steps: (1) photon absorption, (2) electron transport to the surface, and (3) crossing the metal-vacuum barrier. The first two steps can be improved by making the metal completely absorbing and by localizing the fields closer to the metal surface, thereby reducing the electron travel distance. Both of these effects can be achieved by coupling the incident light to an electron density wave on the metal surface, represented by a quasi-particle, the Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP). The photoemission then becomes a process where the photon energy is transferred to an SPP and then to an electron. The dispersion relation for the SPP defines the region of energies where such process can occur. For example, for gold, the maximum SPP energy is 2.4 eV, however, the work function is 5.6 eV, therefore, only a fourth order photoemission process is possible. In such process, four photons excite four plasmons that together excite only one electron. The yield of such non-linear process depends strongly on the light intensity. In this work, the structure consisted of rectangular nano-grooves (NGs) arranged in a subwavelength grating on a metal surface is presented that provides a dramatic increase in the metal’s absorption, field localization, and field enhancement. When light is polarized perpendicular to the orientation of the grooves a standing SPP wave is excited along the vertical walls in the NGs, that act as Fabry-Perot resonators. By adjusting the geometry of the NGs and the period of the subwavelength grating the resonance can be fine tuned to a desired position, for example, the laser fundamental wavelength, anywhere from the UV to the near infrared (NIR). Two types of gratings are presented: (a) a gold grating with period of 600 nm, and (b) an aluminum-gold grating with a period of 100 nm; both with resonance at 720 nm. In each case, strong on-resonance absorption was observed, with over 98% for grating (b). Unlike the grating-coupled SPP waves, where the angle is well defined by the momentum matching condition, the resonant NGs allow coupling to the standing modes at a range of angles of incidence, referred to as the angular bandwidth. A new model for the on-resonance absorption based on the ensamble action of the NGs is presented that serves as the basis for a design of an NG grating with an ultrawide spectral as well as angular bandwidth. For sample (b), the angular bandwidth is 80 degrees, corresponding to an opening angle of 160 degrees. The photoemission enhancement for such a grating was measured to be seven orders of magnitude for a four-photon photoemission. This is an incredible result demonstrating the power of the plasmonic grating presented, which is an efficient light trapper and field enhancer for a non-linear processes. These results demonstrate that the metal photocathode prepared with a NG grating on the metal surface will provide sufficient pulse charge driven by a 1 μJ 15fs pulsed laser at 800 nm for the optimum FEL operation.