Comparison between gradient-doping GaAs photocathode
and uniform-doping GaAs photocathode
Zhi Yang,
1
Benkang Chang,
1,
* Jijun Zou,
1,2
Jianliang Qiao,
1
Pin Gao,
1
Yiping Zeng,
3
and Hui Li
1
1
Institute of Electronic Engineering and Optoelectronic Technology, Nanjing Institute of Science and Technology, Nanjing,
Jiangsu 210094, China
2
Department of Electronic Engineering, East China Institute of Technology, Fuzhou, Jiangxi 344000, China
3
Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China
*Corresponding author: bkchang@mail.njust.edu.cn
Received 23 April 2007; revised 21 June 2007; accepted 21 June 2007;
posted 29 June 2007 (Doc. ID 82288); published 27 September 2007
We compared two reflection-mode negative electron affinity (NEA) GaAs photocathode samples that are
grown by molecular beam epitaxy with p-type beryllium doping. One sample is uniform doping, and
another is gradient doping. Experimental curves of spectral response sensitivity and quantum efficiency
are obtained. The thicknesses of the two cathodes are both 2.6 m. The integrated sensitivity of the
uniform doping one is 1966 A兾lm, and that of the gradient-doping one is 2421 A兾lm. The escape
probability and diffusion length are fitted from the spectral response curves. For the uniform-doping
sample, the escape probability is 0.45 and the diffusion length is 5 m. For the gradient-doping sample,
the escape probability is 0.55 and the diffusion length is 5.5 m. © 2007 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: 0160.2100, 250.0250.
1. Introduction
Heavily doped p-type GaAs cleaved in an ultrahigh
vacuum and coated with monolayers of cesium and
oxygen has a low enough work function to permit
photoexcited electrons from all energies, giving a
high quantum yield and producing a high-efficiency
photocathode [1–4].
Research on increasing the quantum efficiency of
the photocathode has been developing for quite a long
time. There have been some attempts. One of the
attempts was making the band-bending region (BBR)
smaller to decrease the possibility scattering and re-
combination. The width of the band-bending region
(in cm) is given by [5]
W ⫽
共
2V
BB
兾qN
A
兲
1兾2
, (1)
where q is the electron charge (in C), ⑀ is the dielectric
constant (in F兾cm), V
BB
is the amount of band bend-
ing (in V), and N
A
is the acceptor doping concentra-
tion (in cm
⫺3
).
W can be made small by using a high doping den-
sity, N
A
. Unfortunately, high doping density also
causes a short diffusion length, which reduces the
photocathode quantum yield.
Another way is to add an electric field on the pho-
tocathode to help the photoexcited electron diffuse to
the surface and escape, but it is hard to achieve be-
cause the photocathode is too thin.
Since it is hard to add an electric field on the
photocathode [6], a gradient-doping structure is in-
vented, in which the surface doping concentration is
lower than the bulk concentration. The number of
band-bending regions of the material is more than
one. Each band-bending region has an electric field.
So the electric field in the gradient-doping GaAs ma-
terial is greater than the uniform-doping GaAs ma-
terial. It should be easier for the electron to diffuse to
the surface in the gradient-doping GaAs material.
In this paper, the characteristics between a
uniform-doping GaAs and a gradient-doping GaAs
are compared. Two GaAs (100) reflection mode
photocathodes are grown (A and B) by molecular
beam-pitaxy (MBE) for the study. Sample A is a
uniform-doping GaAs, with p-type beryllium doping.
Sample B, which is divided into four sections, is a
0003-6935/07/287035-05$15.00/0
© 2007 Optical Society of America
1 October 2007 兾 Vol. 46, No. 28 兾 APPLIED OPTICS 7035