Molecular interfaces for plasmonic hot electron photovoltaics

Arquer, F. Pelayo Garcı́a de; Mihi, Agustín; Konstantatos, Gerasimos

doi:10.1039/c4nr06356b

Cited by 33 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…In addition, a better understanding of the hot carrier relaxation timescale [75,117,[159][160][161] in various materials as well as the transport dynamics in nanostructures would provide more valuable information for designing plasmonic devices with efficient hot carrier transport to the Schottky interface. Lastly, engineering the metal-semiconductor interface on the atomic level could also lead to improved hot electron transfer efficiencies [157,162]. For A B instance, a recent report describing hot electron transfer by a plasmon-induced interfacial charge-transfer transition has shown an internal quantum efficiency up to 20% independent of incident photon energy [157].…”

Section: -156mentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvesting the loss: surface plasmon-based hot electron photodetection

2016

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Abstract:Although the nonradiative decay of surface plasmons was once thought to be only a parasitic process within the plasmonic and metamaterial communities, hot carriers generated from nonradiative plasmon decay offer new opportunities for harnessing absorption loss. Hot carriers can be harnessed for applications ranging from chemical catalysis, photothermal heating, photovoltaics, and photodetection. Here, we present a review on the recent developments concerning photodetection based on hot electrons. The basic principles and recent progress on hot electron photodetectors are summarized. The challenges and potential future directions are also discussed.

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Section: -156mentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvesting the loss: surface plasmon-based hot electron photodetection

2016

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“…In the work presented here we theoretically explore the use of a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) hererostructures for plasmonic hot-electron photodiodes and solar cells. This architecture has already been successfully employed in plasmonic hot-electron solar cells, where the main role of the insulating layer was the passivation of detrimental semiconductor midgap states that hinder the photovoltaic response of otherwise MS diodes [15,18]. Here we show that, on top of this, the insulating layer can be used to increase the performance of plasmonic solar cells by means of dark current reduction, and as leverage for device design for a given choice of metal-semiconductor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Also very important is, in the case of realistic interfaces, the presence of surface states that result in Fermi level pinning and Ф b reduction [15,18]. Therefore, it is important to find alternatives to the MS architecture for more efficient plasmonic hot-electron photovoltaic devices.…”

Section: Metal-semiconductor Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since then, it was extensively studied as a way to increase the open-circuit voltage and reduce back recombination in other type of solar cells, and recently for plasmonic hotelectron photovoltaics [15,18]. It consists of an insulating layer sandwiched between the metal and the semiconductor, of a given electron affinity (χ) and thickness (d).…”

Section: Metal-insulator-semiconductor Architecturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…If these excited carriers are collected before thermalization occurs by internal photoemission (typically a ps-window interval) [5], they can result in a photocurrent with an spectral response tunable by metal nanostructuring, enabling therefore functionalities beyond those resulting from band-to-band absorption in semiconductors. This is appealing for applications such as light-energy harvesting (photocatalysis [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] and photovoltaics [13][14][15][16][17][18]), and photodetection [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Initially focused in the area of photocatalysis and photochemistry, research in plasmonic hot-electron devices has recently seen significant advances in the area of solid state photodetection and photovoltaic devices, based on a Schottky metal-semiconductor (MS) architecture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Metal-insulator-semiconductor heterostructures for plasmonic hot-carrier optoelectronics

Arquer¹,

Konstantatos²

2015

Opt. Express

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Plasmonic hot-electron devices are attractive candidates for light-energy harvesting and photodetection applications. For solid state devices, the most compact and straightforward architecture is the metalsemiconductor Schottky junction. However convenient, this structure introduces limitations such as the elevated dark current associated to thermionic emission, or constraints for device design due to the finite choice of materials. In this work we theoretically consider the metalinsulator-semiconductor heterojunction as a candidate for plasmonic hotcarrier photodetection and solar cells. The presence of the insulating layer can significantly reduce the dark current, resulting in increased device performance with predicted solar power conversion efficiencies up to 9%. For photodetection, the sensitivity can be extended well into the infrared by a judicious choice of the insulating layer, with up to 300-fold expected enhancement in detectivity.

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Plasmonic Nanostars with Hot Spots for Efficient Generation of Hot Electrons under Solar Illumination

Kong

Wang

Govorov

2016

Advanced Optical Materials

153

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to the resonant plasmonic effect. It was also observed [24,26,27] and calculated [25] that the plasmonic hot spots in metal nanostructures can generate large numbers of energetic electrons. The design of a plasmonic nanocrystal is crucial to create plasmonic hot spots that generate efficiently energetic electrons. In this study, we will address this problem of hot spots and energetic electrons.Here we investigate theoretically the process of generation of hot electrons in nanocrystals with various shapes, such as nanostars (NSTs), nanorods (NRs), and spherical nanoparticles (NPs). The focus will be on the role of plasmonic hot spots in such NCs. In this study, we show that plasmonic NSTs with multiple hot spots are very efficient for generation of energetic electrons. We also compare NSTs with NRs and NPs and discuss two material systems, gold and silver. Silver NCs exhibit much larger rates of generation since the plasmon enhancement in such silver NCs is much stronger than that in the case of gold. The physical reason for the high rates of generation of hot carriers in the silver NCs are the following: (1) The long mean free path of electrons and (2) the narrow and intensive plasmonic resonances. The effect of generation of hot electrons is an essentially quantum effect and comes from the optical absorption processes near the surfaces of a NC. Such surface absorption is, of course, efficient only in relatively small NCs. We, therefore, examine the quantum efficiencies and the quantum plasmonic parameter for NCs of various sizes and shapes. Using such calculations, we show the quantum nature of the generation of energetic carriers in NCs in general.We also should note that the formalism of the paper focuses on the quantum intraband transitions in the NCs made of gold and silver. Such intraband transitions dominate the optical responses of the plasmonic NCs in the spectral intervals λ > 500 nm (gold) and λ > 400 nm (silver). Simultaneously, these spectral intervals are most interesting for the plasmonic effects since the plasmonic peaks in these spectral regions appear to be narrow and strong. [23] Regarding the role of the interband transitions and generation of hot holes in the d-band, one can look into recent review papers (e.g., ref.[23]).Theoretically, the problem of hot electrons has been addressed using several methods: Density matrix formalism combined with time-dependent DFT, perturbative approach for the injection currents, Fermi's golden rule, nonequilibrium Nanostars (NSTs) are spiky nanocrystals (NCs) with plasmonic hot spots. In this study, it is shown that strong electromagnetic fields localized in the NST tips are able to generate large numbers of energetic (hot) electrons, which can be used for photochemistry. To compute plasmonic NCs with complex shapes, a quantum approach based on the effect of surface generation of hot electrons is developed. This approach is then applied to NSTs, nanorods (NRs) and nanospheres. It is found that the plasmonic NSTs with multiple hot spots have the best charact...

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Molecular interfaces for plasmonic hot electron photovoltaics

Abstract: The use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)

Cited by 33 publications

References 51 publications

Harvesting the loss: surface plasmon-based hot electron photodetection

Harvesting the loss: surface plasmon-based hot electron photodetection

Metal-insulator-semiconductor heterostructures for plasmonic hot-carrier optoelectronics

Plasmonic Nanostars with Hot Spots for Efficient Generation of Hot Electrons under Solar Illumination

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