Low work function in the 122-family of iron-based superconductors

H. Pfau, H. Soifer, J. A. Sobota, A. Gauthier, C. R. Rotundu, J. C. Palmstrom, I. R. Fisher, G. Y. Chen, H. H. Wen, Z. X. Shen, P. S. Kirchmann

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We determine the work functions of the iron arsenic compounds AFe2As2 (A=Ca,Ba,Cs) using photoemission spectroscopy to be 2.7 eV for CaFe2As2, 1.8 eV for BaFe2As2, and 1.3 eV for CsFe2As2. The work functions of these 122 iron-based superconductors track those of the elementary metal A but are substantially smaller. The most likely explanation of this observation is that the cleaving surface exposes only half an A-layer. The low work function and good photoemission cross section of BaFe2As2 and CsFe2As2 enable photoemission even from a common white LED light.

Original languageEnglish
Article number034801
JournalPhysical Review Materials
Volume4
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Materials Science
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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