Characteristics of lanthanum hexaboride thin film cathode deposited on large area substrate

The lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) thin film cathode was deposited on large-area glass substrate and Ta substrate by the method of electron-beam deposition under the substrate temperature of 250 ℃ and the vacuum of 2×10-4 Pa. The deposited LaB6 thin films are predominantly (100)-oriented. The lattice displacement between LaB6 film and the LaB6 bulk target is minimal and the crystal size is relatively small at 45° deposition. Theoretically, the LaB6 film deposited at 45° has the possibility of forming low stress contact on different substrates. The work function of the LaB6 film cathode was measured to be 2.56 eV, which also proves the (100)-oriented growth of LaB6 films.