Viable thermionic emission from graphene-covered metals

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that graphene-covered metals, especially graphene/Ru(0001), can emit thermionic electrons efficiently at high temperatures due to their low work functions, with potential applications in large-area electron emitters.

Contribution

It provides the first characterization of thermionic emission from graphene on transition metals and reveals the influence of metal-graphene interactions on work function and emission properties.

Findings

Graphene/Ru(0001) exhibits a low work function of 3.3 eV, suitable for thermionic emission.

Graphene/Ir(111) has higher work functions (>4 eV) with orientation-dependent variation.

Graphene-metal interactions significantly affect thermionic emission efficiency.

Abstract

Thermionic emission from monolayer graphene grown on representative transition metals, Ir and Ru, is characterized by low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM). Work functions were determined from the temperature dependence of the emission current and from the electron energy spectrum of emitted electrons. The high-temperature work function of the strongly interacting system graphene/Ru(0001) is sufficiently low, 3.3 \pm 0.1 eV, to have technological potential for large-area emitters that are spatially uniform, efficient, and chemically inert. The thermionic work functions of the less strongly interacting system graphene/Ir(111) are over 1 eV larger and vary substantially (0.4 eV) between graphene orientations rotated by 30{\deg}.