On-chip single-crystal plasmonic optoelectronics for efficient hot carrier collection and photovoltage detection

Yunxuan Zhu; Sai C. Yelishala; Shusen Liao; Jackson Shropshire; Douglas Natelson; Longji Cui

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-02030-6

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On-chip single-crystal plasmonic optoelectronics for efficient hot carrier collection and photovoltage detection

Original Articles

- On-chip single-crystal plasmonic optoelectronics for efficient hot carrier collection and photovoltage detection
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 11, Pages: 3506-3516(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
  2.Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
  3.Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
  4.Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
  5.Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA
  6.Materials Science and Engineering Program and Center for Experiments on Quantum Materials, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- Author bio：
  
  Yunxuan Zhu (yunxuan.zhu@colorado.edu)
  Douglas Natelson (natelson@rice.edu)
  Longji Cui (longji.cui@colorado.edu)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-02030-6
  CLC：
- Received：11 April 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-08-15，
  
  Accepted：31 August 2025，
  
  Published Online：16 September 2025，
  
  Published：30 November 2025
- Accepted：
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Zhu, Y. X. et al. On-chip single-crystal plasmonic optoelectronics for efficient hot carrier collection and photovoltage detection. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 3506-3516 (2025).
DOI：

Zhu, Y. X. et al. On-chip single-crystal plasmonic optoelectronics for efficient hot carrier collection and photovoltage detection. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 3506-3516 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02030-6.

摘要

Abstract

Large-area chemically synthesized single-crystal metals with nanometer-scale thickness have emerged as promising materials for on-chip nanophotonic applications

owing to their superior plasmonic properties compared to nanofabricated polycrystalline counterparts. While much recent attention has focused on their optical properties

the combined optimal electrical and optical characteristics

which hold great potential for high-performance optoelectronic functionalities

remain largely unexplored. Here

we present a single-crystal plasmonic optoelectronic platform based on nanowires fabricated from synthesized gold flakes and demonstrate its capabilities for highly enhanced hot carrier collection

electroluminescence

and photovoltage detection. Notably

single-crystal gold nanogap devices exhibit an order of magnitude higher open-circuit photovoltage compared to polycrystalline devices

representing one of the highest reported photovoltage sensing performances in terms of on-chip device density and responsivity per area. Our analysis revealed that this enhancement is attributed mostly to the suppression of electron-phonon scattering and improved hot carrier tunneling efficiency in single-crystal devices. These results highlight the potential of large-scale single-crystal nanostructures for both fundamental studies of nanoscale hot carrier transport and scalable electrically driven nanophotonic applications.

关键词

Keywords

references

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