In this Letter, we present a new class of near-infrared photodetectors comprising Au nanorods-ZnO nanowire hybrid systems. Fabricated hybrid FET devices showed a large photoresponse under radiation wavelengths between 650 and 850 nm, accompanied by an "ultrafast" transient with a time scale of 250 ms, more than 1 order of magnitude faster than the ZnO response under radiation above band gap. The generated photocurrent is ascribed to plasmonic-mediated generation of hot electrons at the metal-semiconductor Schottky barrier. In the presented architecture, Au-nanorod-localized surface plasmons were used as active elements for generating and injecting hot electrons into the wide band gap ZnO nanowire, functioning as a passive component for charge collection. A detailed investigation of the hot electron generation and injection processes is discussed to explain the improved and extended performance of the hybrid device. The quantum efficiency measured at 650 nm was calculated to be approximately 3%, more than 30 times larger than values reported for equivalent metal/semiconductor planar photodetectors. The presented work is extremely promising for further development of novel miniaturized, tunable photodetectors and for highly efficient plasmonic energy conversion devices.

We present a novel technique for the manipulation of the energy spectrum of hard-wall InAs/InP nanowire quantum dots. By using two local gate electrodes, we induce a strong transverse electric field in the dot and demonstrate the controlled modification of its electronic orbitals. Our approach allows us to dramatically enhance the single-particle energy spacing between the first two quantum levels in the dot and thus to increment the working temperature of our InAs/InP single-electron transistors. Our devices display a very robust modulation of the conductance even at liquid nitrogen temperature, while allowing an ultimate control of the electron filling down to the last free carrier. Potential further applications of the technique to time-resolved spin manipulation are also discussed.