Intrinsic emittance reduction in transmission mode photocathodes

High quantum efficiency (QE) and low emittance electron beams provided by multi-alkali photocathodes make them of great interest for next generation high brightness photoinjectors. Spicer's three-step model well describes the photoemission process; however, some photocathode characteristics such as their thickness have not yet been completely exploited to further improve the brightness of the generated electron beams. In this work, we report on the emittance and QE of a multi-alkali photocathode grown onto a glass substrate operated in transmission and reflection modes at different photon energies. We observed a 20% reduction in the intrinsic emittance from the reflection to the transmission mode operation. This observation can be explained by inelastic electron-phonon scattering during electrons' transit towards the cathode surface. Due to this effect, we predict that thicker photocathode layers will further reduce the intrinsic emittance of electron beams generated by photocathodes operated in transmiss...