Optical floating zone growth and thermionic emission properties of La0.9Sr0.1B6 single crystal

This paper has studied the crystal structure, growth orientation, crystal quality and thermionic emission properties of the La0.9Sr0.1B6 single crystal prepared by the optical floating zone method. By the means of XRD, single crystal X-ray diffraction, X-ray Laue diffraction, X-ray rocking curve and TEM, the La0.9Sr0.1B6 single crystal grown along [100] orientation is determined to be a single-phase solid solution of Sr-doped LaB6 with the typical cubic structure and have a good crystal quality and integrity. The higher J(1kV) (42.55 A/cm(2)), J(o) (31.19 A/cm(2)) and lower Phi(eff) (2.492 eV) than LaB6 under the cathode operating temperature of 1500 C as well as the good thermionic emission stability strongly suggest that the grown La0.9Sr0.1B6 single crystal has a good potential to be a promising hot cathode material.