Abstract

Metal nanostructures possess strong absorptions in the visible spectrum as surface plasmon (SP) resonances are arisen. It has been shown that the absorbed plasmonic energy transfers to an adjacent semiconductor either through resonant energy transfer or directly through hot-electron injection. Therefore, the photoactivity of the semiconductor in the visible region can be improved. The optical response of plasmonic structure is the strong morphology and geometry dependence of SPs, in principle making it possible to design a composite plasmonic/semiconductor system that can harvest photons over the entire solar spectrum and beyond.

© 2013 Japan Society of Applied Physics, Optical Society of America