Resonances in photoemission from semiconductors with negative electron affinity

Abstract

Summary form only given, as follows. The variation of the photoemission from the negative electron affinity (NEA) semiconductor surface with the position of the surface Fermi level is theoretically studied. Resonance maxima both in photoyield and the surface recombination rate (when the depth and the width of the quantum well in the band bending region (BBR) are close to the appearance of the new quantum level) are predicted as a result of quantum character of the electron motion in the BBR. The resonance BBR transmission is expected to manifest itself in the temperature, doping, and thickness of the activation layer photoyield dependence. The experimental studies of the dependencies should help to monitor the evolution of the BBR during surface activation to the NEA state.