Abstract
Electrons on the surface of liquid helium are a widely studied system that may also provide a promising method to implement a quantum computer. One experimental challenge in these studies is to generate electrons on the helium surface in a reliable manner without heating the cryo-system. An electron source relying on photoemission from a zinc film has been previously described using a high power continuous light source that heated the low temperature system. This work has been reproduced more compactly by using a low power pulsed lamp that avoids any heating. About 5×10 3 electrons are collected on 1 cm 2 of helium surface for every pulse of light. A time-resolved experiment suggests that electrons are either emitted over or tunnel through the 1 eV barrier formed by the thin superfluid helium film on the zinc surface. No evidence of trapping or bubble formation is seen.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 410-416 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Low Temperature Physics |
Volume | 161 |
Issue number | 3-4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2010 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
- General Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
Keywords
- Cryogenics
- Electron sources
- Liquid helium
- Photoemission
- Zinc