The S1 photocathode was the first cathode available for practical applications ; in spite of this its mechanism of photoemission has remained enigmatic. S1 semitransparent photocathode is the only one that can be used to study the 1.06 μm neodynium laser pulses of less than 10 ps duration. This recent application and the difficulties to manufacture stable and sensitive S1 photocathode at this wavenlength gave rise to new researches which aim is to have a better knowledge of this structure. We first review the recent results obtained at the Paris Observatory (research sponsored by the CEA) and report on the lifetime in the 1-μm range of the photocathodes processed four years ago. In a second part we will try to analyse the researches which have been investigated during these last ten years in different laboratories to determine the role of the main constituants (silver particles, Co oxydes) and their contributions to photoemission in order to improve the sensitivity and the stability of S1 photocathode.

Date Published: 1 February 1985
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 0491, 16th Intl Congress on High Speed Photography and Photonics, (1 February 1985); doi: 10.1117/12.967924

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0491:
16th Intl Congress on High Speed Photography and Photonics
Michel L. Andre; Manfred Hugenschmidt, Editor(s)