LINAC2026 - 33rd Linear Accelerator Conference

Charge carrier dynamics and emission from copper and cesium telluride cathodes in RF photoguns

Not scheduled

2h

Daejeon Convention Center

Poster Presentation MC1.A02 Electron and ion sources, guns, photo injectors, charge breeders Poster Session

Speaker

Mikhail Vladimirov (National Research Nuclear University MEPhI)

Description

Pico- and subpicosecond electron bunches with low transverse emittance and charges up to hundreds of picocoulombs, routinely generated in high-gradient RF photoguns, are essential for high-brightness light sources. Photoemission governs the initial bunch properties and is central to forming high-brightness beams. Classical photoemission models (Spicer and Fowler–DuBridge) do not always adequately describe emission under high-gradient, high-brightness conditions.

In this work, we further develop a transport-equation formalism to describe self-consistent charge-carrier dynamics in photocathodes [1,2]. This approach accounts for non-equilibrium charge-carrier dynamics under laser pulse excitation and RF fields, and predicts the temporal structure of emitted electron bunches. As a case study, photoelectron emission from copper and cesium telluride cathodes is investigated. Self-consistent dynamics are simulated using the numerical code PhDyn. Calculated quantum efficiencies and emission curves agree with experimental data, demonstrating predictive capability for high-brightness electron source design.

Footnotes

1. Mikhail Vladimirov et al., Semiconductor photocathode’s charge in a high gradient RF photoinjector, JINST (2024)
2. Mikhail Vladimirov et al., Features of electron bunch formation in radiofrequency photoguns, NIM-A (2025)