Direct evidence of low work function on SrVO$_3$ cathode using thermionic electron emission microscopy and high-field ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy

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Auteurs principaux: Sheikh, Md Sariful, Lin, Lin, Jacobs, Ryan, Kordesch, Martin E., Sadowski, Jerzy T., Charpentier, Margaret, Morgan, Dane, Booske, John
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Sheikh, Md Sariful
Lin, Lin
Jacobs, Ryan
Kordesch, Martin E.
Sadowski, Jerzy T.
Charpentier, Margaret
Morgan, Dane
Booske, John
author_facet Sheikh, Md Sariful
Lin, Lin
Jacobs, Ryan
Kordesch, Martin E.
Sadowski, Jerzy T.
Charpentier, Margaret
Morgan, Dane
Booske, John
contents Perovskite SrVO$_3$ has recently been proposed as a novel electron emission cathode material. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest multiple low work function surfaces and recent experimental efforts have consistently demonstrated effective work functions of ~2.7 eV for polycrystalline samples, both results suggesting, but not directly confirming, some fraction of even lower work function surface is present. In this work, thermionic electron emission microscopy (ThEEM) and high-field ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy are used to study the local work function distribution and measure the work function of a partially-oriented-(110)-SrVO$_3$ perovskite oxide cathode surface. Our results show direct evidence of low work function patches of about 2.1 eV on the cathode surface, with corresponding onset of observable thermionic emission at 750 $^o$C. We hypothesize that, in our ThEEM experiments, the high applied electric field suppresses the patch field effect, enabling the direct measurement of local work functions. This measured work function of 2.1 eV is comparable to the previous DFT-calculated work function value of the SrVO-terminated (110) SrVO$_3$ surface (2.3 eV) and SrO terminated (100) surface (1.9 eV). The measured 2.1 eV value is also much lower than the work function for the (001) LaB$_6$ single crystal cathode (~2.7 eV) and comparable to the effective work function of B-type dispenser cathodes (~2.1 eV). If SrVO$_3$ thermionic emitters can be engineered to access domains of this low 2.1 eV work function, they have potential to significantly improve thermionic emitter-based technologies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_04226
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Direct evidence of low work function on SrVO$_3$ cathode using thermionic electron emission microscopy and high-field ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy
Sheikh, Md Sariful
Lin, Lin
Jacobs, Ryan
Kordesch, Martin E.
Sadowski, Jerzy T.
Charpentier, Margaret
Morgan, Dane
Booske, John
Materials Science
Perovskite SrVO$_3$ has recently been proposed as a novel electron emission cathode material. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations suggest multiple low work function surfaces and recent experimental efforts have consistently demonstrated effective work functions of ~2.7 eV for polycrystalline samples, both results suggesting, but not directly confirming, some fraction of even lower work function surface is present. In this work, thermionic electron emission microscopy (ThEEM) and high-field ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy are used to study the local work function distribution and measure the work function of a partially-oriented-(110)-SrVO$_3$ perovskite oxide cathode surface. Our results show direct evidence of low work function patches of about 2.1 eV on the cathode surface, with corresponding onset of observable thermionic emission at 750 $^o$C. We hypothesize that, in our ThEEM experiments, the high applied electric field suppresses the patch field effect, enabling the direct measurement of local work functions. This measured work function of 2.1 eV is comparable to the previous DFT-calculated work function value of the SrVO-terminated (110) SrVO$_3$ surface (2.3 eV) and SrO terminated (100) surface (1.9 eV). The measured 2.1 eV value is also much lower than the work function for the (001) LaB$_6$ single crystal cathode (~2.7 eV) and comparable to the effective work function of B-type dispenser cathodes (~2.1 eV). If SrVO$_3$ thermionic emitters can be engineered to access domains of this low 2.1 eV work function, they have potential to significantly improve thermionic emitter-based technologies.
title Direct evidence of low work function on SrVO$_3$ cathode using thermionic electron emission microscopy and high-field ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.04226