Quantum efficiency, photoemission energy spectra, and mean transverse energy of ultrananocrystalline diamond photocathode

The quantum efficiency and mean transverse energy of electrons emitted from a cathode determine the quality of beams generated from photoinjectors. The nitrogen-incorporated ultrananocrystalline diamond, (N)UNCD, is a new class of robust semiconductor photocathodes, which has been considered in photoinjectors for high peak current extraction. In this work, we measure the spectral response in quantum efficiency, photoemission energy spectra, and mean transverse energy of the (N)UNCD photocathode using a photoemission electron microscope. The observed quantum efficiency was comparable to that of copper photocathodes. Photoemission spectra showed the evidence of scattering of electrons before emission. This relaxation of electrons due to scattering is also observed in the spectral response of the mean transverse energy. The mean transverse energy is limited to ∼ 70 meV at the threshold. We attribute this to the physical and chemical roughness of the (N)UNCD photocathode and, hence, smoother films will be required to further reduce the mean transverse energy obtained from the (N)UNCD photocathode.