Cesium telluride cathodes for the next generation of high-average current high-brightness photoinjectors

We report on the performances of a Cs2Te photocathode under extreme conditions of high peak time-dependent accelerating fields, continuous wave operations, and MHz pulse extraction with up to 0.3 mA average current. The measurements, performed in a normal conducting cavity, show extended lifetime and robustness, elucidate the main mechanisms for cathode degradation, and set the required system vacuum performance for compatibility with the operations of a high average power X-ray free electron laser user facility, opening the doors to the next generation of MHz-scale ultrafast scientific instruments.