Evaluating electron photoemission current from a metal nanoemitter based on the lucky-drift model

Photoelectron emission provides high electron current densities required in various applications. In this context, the necessary numerical analysis involving carrier transport can be somewhat tedious as both the thermalized and photogenerated subpopulations must be tracked until they reach the emitting surface. Here, an alternative evaluation utilizing the lucky-drift electron (LDE) concept for field-dependent photoemission current density is carried out. Simulations are performed to include carrier transport in a metallic emitter, consistent with the internal potential and related work function (Φ) based on density-functional theory and a modified Fowler–Nordheim treatment. The results show very close agreement between the LDE approximation and full Monte Carlo analysis for the calculated photo-assisted field-emission current density.