17–22 May 2026
C.I.D
Europe/Zurich timezone

Delivery of Caesium Telluride Photocathodes to the CLARA Accelerator at Daresbury Laboratory

THP2143
21 May 2026, 16:00
2h
C.I.D

C.I.D

Deauville, France
Poster Presentation MC2.T02: Photon sources: Electron Sources Poster session

Speaker

Hugh Churn (ASTeC, STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Cockcroft Institute)

Description

High performance electron accelerators require high
brightness electron beams. To achieve this a photocathode
with a high quantum efficiency (QE) and low intrinsic emit-
tance is required while also being robust with a long lifetime
and low dark current. Photocathodes based on alkali metals
can fulfil these requirements and, as such, are an important
area of research for the accelerator physics community.

The Compact Linear Accelerator for Research and Ap-
plications (CLARA) at STFC Daresbury Laboratory has
recently been upgraded from a copper photocathode to a cae-
sium telluride photocathode. This has enabled a significant
increase in bunch charge for a fraction of the laser power. We
discuss the process of manufacturing and polishing molyb-
denum photocathode plugs and the subsequent deposition of
caesium telluride thin films. Three photocathodes have been
provided to the CLARA facility with consistent and high
quantum efficiency. One of these photocathodes has been
successfully operating in CLARA since September 2025
with a stable QE of approximately 11 %.

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Author

Hugh Churn (ASTeC, STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Cockcroft Institute)

Co-authors

Christopher Benjamin (ASTeC, STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Cockcroft Institute) Mr Dominic Sterland (University of Warwick) Katherine Morrow (ASTeC, STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Cockcroft Institute) Dr Lee Jones (ASTeC, STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Cockcroft Institute) Tim Noakes (ASTeC, STFC Daresbury Laboratory, Cockcroft Institute)

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