Liquid and solid photocathodes and their applications for fast gaseous detectors

Two types of liquid photocathodes were investigated: semitransparent and reflective. Experiments have led to the conclusion that, in the case of semitransparent photocathodes, the photoemission increases strongly at certain thicknesses, when the electron temperature of the photoelectrons obtained in the applied electric field is higher than the conduction-band energy of the liquid. In the case of reflective cathodes, a thin intermediate layer of vapor between the liquid and the gaseous phases contributes strongly to the production of photoelectrons. The main application of the photocathodes described is in very fast gaseous detectors for the detection of VUV (vacuum ultraviolet) photons