Theoretical study on surface plasmon and hot carrier transport properties of Au(111) films

Abstract

Metal films down to atomic thickness have superior light absorption ability and conductive properties, especially the surface plasmons excited at the interface of metal film and dielectric can well capture photons and generate hot carriers, making them more efficient in improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells, designing photodetectors in the near-infrared band, and sensors based on surface plasmon. However, there is still a lack of systematic theoretical studies on the surface plasmon and hot carrier properties of metal thin films. Based on the many-body first-principles calculation method, this paper systematically studies the surface plasmon properties of Au(111) films with thickness from monolayer to 5 monolayers, and the energy distribution and transport properties of hot carriers generated by surface plasmons. The study results show that Au(111) filsm have low-loss surface plasmon properties. Meanwhile, the surface plasmons excited at the interface of the Au(111) films and the dielectric are strongly confined, which can enhance the local electric field, thus being crucial in nanophotonics applications. In addition, Au(111) films have high hot carrier generation efficiency, high energy hot electron energy and hot hole energy, and excellent mean free paths and mean free times. Unexpectedly, the direct current of Au(111) films is significantly better than that of bulk Au. These results provide new ideas and theoretical basis for the design and fabrication of Au(111) films in optoelectronic devices and energy conversion devices.

Temperature dependence of MXenes plasmons induced hot carrier generation and transport

“…(random phase approximation, RPA)内准粒子自 能虚部值计算的热载流子弛豫率为 [27,28] (τ e-e kn ) 根据自由电子的 Fermi-liquid 理论, 电子-电 子散射导致的热载流子弛豫率对环境温度的依赖 关系可近似表示为 [29,30] (τ e-e kn…”