Photoelectron emission from lithiated diamond

This paper reviews electron emission from negative electron affinity (NEA) diamond and gives account of the recent developments in alternatives to hydrogen‐termination for producing NEA diamond surfaces, particularly using lithium on oxygen‐terminated diamond. We discuss the background and motivation for using alkali metals and present both experimental and computational results that cover structure, electronic properties, photoemission, and total photoyield. Secondary yield enhancement of over 200 × is demonstrated over a reference surface with positive electron affinity.