Quantifying the role of surface plasmon excitation and hot carrier transport in plasmonic devices

Tagliabue, Giulia; Jermyn, Adam S.; Sundararaman, Ravishankar; Welch, Alex J.; DuChene, Joseph S.; Pala, Ragip; Davoyan, Artur R.; Narang, Prineha; Atwater, Harry A.

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05968-x

Quantifying the role of surface plasmon excitation and hot carrier transport in plasmonic devices

Journal Article · Thu Aug 23 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05968-x· OSTI ID:1464991

Tagliabue, Giulia; Jermyn, Adam S.; Sundararaman, Ravishankar; Welch, Alex J.; DuChene, Joseph S.; Pala, Ragip; Davoyan, Artur R.; Narang, Prineha;

Abstract

Harnessing photoexcited “hot” carriers in metallic nanostructures could define a new phase of non-equilibrium optoelectronics for photodetection and photocatalysis. Surface plasmons are considered pivotal for enabling efficient operation of hot carrier devices. Clarifying the fundamental role of plasmon excitation is therefore critical for exploiting their full potential. Here, we measure the internal quantum efficiency in photoexcited gold (Au)–gallium nitride (GaN) Schottky diodes to elucidate and quantify the distinct roles of surface plasmon excitation, hot carrier transport, and carrier injection in device performance. We show that plasmon excitation does not influence the electronic processes occurring within the hot carrier device. Instead, the metal band structure and carrier transport processes dictate the observed hot carrier photocurrent distribution. The excellent agreement with parameter-free calculations indicates that photoexcited electrons generated in ultra-thin Au nanostructures impinge ballistically on the Au–GaN interface, suggesting the possibility for hot carrier collection without substantial energy losses via thermalization.

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Research Organization:: California Inst. of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; SC0004993

OSTI ID:: 1464991

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1511489

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 9; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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