Alkali antimonide photocathodes in a can

The next generation of x-ray light sources will need reliable, high quantum efficiency photocathodes. These cathodes will likely be from the alkali antimonide family, which currently holds the record for highest average current achieved from a photoinjector. In this work, we explore a new option for delivering these cathodes to a machine which requires them: use of sealed commercial vacuum tubes. Several sealed tubes have been introduced into a vacuum system and separated from their housing, exposing the active photocathode on a transport arm suitable for insertion into an injector. The separation was achieved without large loss of QE. These cathodes have been compared to those grown via traditional methods, both in terms of QE and in terms of crystalline structure, and found to be similar.