Optical field coupling in ZnO nanorods decorated with silver plasmonic nanoparticles

Abstract

Characterizing carrier redistribution due to optical field modulation in a plasmonic hot-electron/semiconductor junction can raise the framework for harnessing the carrier decay of plasmonic metals in more efficient conversion systems....

Dual functionality of surface plasmon resonance and barrier layer on the photosensing and optical nonlinearity of ZnO nanorod arrays

“…The synergetic architecture of noble metal-semiconductor heterostructures can promote high-output functionalities with improved optoelectronic properties for applications in energy harvesting, photocatalysis, photonic crystals, biological sensing, chemical and electrochemical sensing. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] The coupling of noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) with semiconductors can establish the exploitation of various photophysical processes. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Strong light interaction with plasmonic NPs can cause several interesting phenomena such as electric field enhancement, selective light absorption, and the generation of hot electron-hole pairs through the decay of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the noble metal NP/semiconductor junctions.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] The coupling of noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) with semiconductors can establish the exploitation of various photophysical processes. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Strong light interaction with plasmonic NPs can cause several interesting phenomena such as electric field enhancement, selective light absorption, and the generation of hot electron-hole pairs through the decay of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the noble metal NP/semiconductor junctions. 2,11,18 The LSPR-generated non-radiative hot electrons can overcome the Schottky barrier of the plasmonic NP-semiconductor junction and transfer into the conduction band (CB) of the adjacent semiconductor 2,4,19 via three different mechanisms:…”

“…(i) photonic enhancement, which requires surface patterning of the metal-semiconductor interface to concentrate the incident light, trap it and increase the photoconversion; 4 (ii) direct electron transfer (DET) of the high-energy (1-4 eV) hot electrons of noble metal NPs that are not in thermodynamic equilibrium into the CB of the adjacent semiconductor; 2,19,20 (iii) large photogenerated electron-hole dipoles in the plasmonic NPs induce electron-hole dipoles in the semiconductor, also known as plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET). 2,12,21 Photonic enhancement is highly successful only when the incident photon's energy exceeds the bandgap energy of the semiconductor. 19,22 Hot electron transfer and PIRET can coexist, compete and independently improve photoconversion near/below the band edge.…”

“…Very efficient absorption of light in the visible range, high carrier densities and low recombination rates can be achieved by coupling the LSPR decay of plasmonic NPs with widebandgap semiconductors. 2,4 Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays (ZnO NRsA) are favorable configurations in a vast field of applications, including lightharvesting devices (e.g. solar cells, photodetectors and photoelectrochemical cells), UV devices, chemical and biological sensing, environmental monitoring, and optical communication.…”

“…solar cells, photodetectors and photoelectrochemical cells), UV devices, chemical and biological sensing, environmental monitoring, and optical communication. [1][2][3]14,23,24 Although one-dimensional (1D) ZnO nanostructures permit efficient charge collection and current generation in separate length scales for light absorption and charge carrier transport, their low visible light absorption and high recombination centers restrict the potential application of ZnO NRsA in different photonic fields. 2,23 Plasmonic metal-semiconductor heterojunctions have been designed to optimize and elevate semiconductor limitations.…”