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Research on quantum efficiency and photoemission characteristics of exponential-doping GaN nanowire photocathode

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Abstract

Aimed at improving the actual photoemission performance of nanowire photocathode, an axial exponential-doping GaN nanowire photocathode is proposed. Based on two-dimensional continuity equation and finite difference method, the quantum efficiency of this exponential-doping GaN nanowire photocathode is obtained. The simulation results suggest that this structure of GaN nanowire photocathode can effectively obviate the difficulty in collecting the electrons escaping from side faces because a large part of carriers will escape from top surface under the built-in electric field. Besides, it is discovered that the optimal height of nanowires is 300 nm when the doping concentration of top surface is 1 × 1018 cm−3 and that of back interface is 1 × 1019 cm−3. Then, when the nanowires are arranged as array, the optimal light angle of incidence is approximately 60° by analyzing the electrons flow density of the array. By comparison of collection proportion of photoelectrons, the optimal nanowire spacing is 231 nm. This study demonstrates potential application value of exponential-doping GaN nanowire photocathode. The results can direct the preparation of this kind of photocathode.

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Acknowledgements

This work is sponsored by Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province, China, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Grant No. 30916011206), and the Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. 2015-XCL-008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Optoelectronic Technology, School of Electronic and Optical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China

    Sihao Xia, Lei Liu, Yu Diao & Shu Feng

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  1. Sihao Xia
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  2. Lei Liu
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  3. Yu Diao
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  4. Shu Feng
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Correspondence to Lei Liu.

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Xia, S., Liu, L., Diao, Y. et al. Research on quantum efficiency and photoemission characteristics of exponential-doping GaN nanowire photocathode. J Mater Sci 52, 12795–12805 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1394-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1394-x

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