Embedding Plasmonic Nanostructure Diodes Enhances Hot Electron Emission
- 6 March 2013
- journal article
- letter
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Nano Letters
- Vol. 13 (4), 1687-1692
- https://doi.org/10.1021/nl400196z
Abstract
When plasmonic nanostructures serve as the metallic counterpart of a metal-semiconductor Schottky interface, hot electrons due to plasmon decay are emitted across the Schottky barrier, generating measurable photocurrents in the semiconductor. When the plasmonic nanostructure is atop the semiconductor, only a small percentage of hot electrons are excited with a wavevector permitting transport across the Schottky barrier. Here we show that embedding plasmonic structures into the semiconductor substantially increases hot electron emission. Responsivities increase by 25× over planar diodes for embedding depths as small as 5 nm. The vertical Schottky barriers created by this geometry make the plasmon-induced hot electron process the dominant contributor to photocurrent in plasmonic nanostructure-diode-based devices.Keywords
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