Research activities of photocathodes for HZDR SRF gun

Since 2005 the photocathode laboratory has been in operation at HZDR. The main goal is to prepare Cs2Te photocathodes for the SRF gun. A vacuum transport system with UHV is used to move the cathodes from preparation lab to accelerator hall. Up to now 34 Cs2Te photocathodes have been deposited and eight of them have been used in the SRF gun. Quantum efficiency (QE) of 1% and life time of months can be maintained during the gun operation. At the same time activities are directed towards new photocathode materials with high Q.E. for high current electron sources. Cs3Sb and GaN(Cs) photocathodes have been tested as new candidates, and the design of a preparation system for GaAs(Cs, O) is ongoing