Roles of cesium and oxides in the processing of gallium aluminum arsenide photocathodes

The roles of cesium (Cs) and oxides in the processing of gallium aluminum arsenide (GaAlAs) photocathodes have been investigated. The Cs/O activation, Cs/O reactivation and degradation experiments are performed on GaAlAs photocathode. The activated photocurrent, degraded photocurrent and quantum efficiency curves are measured using a self-developed multi-information measurement system. We use the quantum efficiency formula to fit the experimental quantum efficiency curves, and obtain the performance parameters of the photocathode. The results show that the oxide gases play an important role in the degradation of the photocathode, and the Cs atoms could react with the oxides on the degraded surface and the residual oxide gases. Besides, the quantum efficiency of the degraded GaAlAs photocathode could be restored to a good level after Cs/O reactivation.