Synthesis and characterization of low work function alkali oxide thin films for unconventional thermionic energy converters

Abstract

In this work, we present the synthesis and the characterization of low work function thin films for Micro Thermionic Converters (MTC). The objective is producing a device operating at relatively low temperature (<1000 K). We aim at improving the MTC efficiency by reducing the work function of the electrodes and increasing the emitted current density by alkali metal oxides electrodes coating. In particular, in this work, we analyse and compare the performances of two alkali metal oxides: potassium and caesium oxides. Our choice to exploit those materials relies on their low work function and their abundance. For both materials, we present the results on the synthesis of the oxides under high vacuum and controlled temperature. The oxide thin films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoemission, and thermionic emission measurements. By exploiting the latter technique, a quantitative evaluation of the current density, emitted by the heated oxides, is obtained as a function of temperature. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to decrease the silicon work function by almost 3 eV, enabling significant thermionic currents despite relatively low temperatures (below 850 K).