Electron emission from LiTaO3 and LiNbO3 crystals excited by Nd:YLF laser light and their X-ray source application

Electron emission current from LiTaO₃ and LiNbO₃ excited by Nd:YLF laser light and X-rays from a counter electrode were measured. When LiTaO₃ and LiNbO₃ were excited by laser light with a power density of 142 W/cm², the electron emission currents from LiTaO₃ and LiNbO₃ increased to 2.5 nA and 1.4 nA, respectively, and X-ray started to generate after 10 s and 14 s, respectively. The K_α (8.0 keV) and the K_β (8.9 keV) characteristic X-ray peaks of a copper target and the blemsstrahlung X-ray were also observed. The maximum energies of the blemsstrahlung X-ray from LiTaO₃ and LiNbO₃ were 39 keV and 36 keV, respectively. The X-ray intensity using LiTaO₃ was about 1.4 times higher than that using LiNbO₃.