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Diamond Surfaces with Air‐Stable Negative Electron Affinity and Giant Electron Yield Enhancement
Author(s) -
O'Donnell Kane M.,
Edmonds Mark T.,
Ristein Juergen,
Tadich Anton,
Thomsen Lars,
Wu QiHui,
Pakes Chris I.,
Ley Lothar
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201301424
Subject(s) - electron affinity (data page) , materials science , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , electron , yield (engineering) , diamond , photoemission spectroscopy , band gap , analytical chemistry (journal) , dipole , chemical physics , nanotechnology , atomic physics , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , molecule , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The presence of an air‐stable negative electron affinity (NEA) on lithium‐covered oxygen‐terminated diamond after a thermal activation process is demonstrated. The NEA is unequivocally established by the onset of photoelectron yield at the bandgap energy of 5.5 eV. This surface exhibits a secondary electron yield enhancement by a factor of 200, compared to a surface with positive electron affinity. The surface chemistry leading to the necessary surface dipole was elucidated by core‐level photoemission spectroscopy in conjunction with previous theoretical calculations. The insensitivity to the details of the deposition process opens a route to practical and robust negative‐electron affinity devices based on diamond.