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arXiv · 1501.04159

Photon Upconversion with Hot Carriers in Plasmonic Systems

Gururaj V. Naik·Jennifer A. Dionne
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Abstract

We propose a novel scheme of photon upconversion based on harnessing the energy of plasmonic hot carriers. Low-energy photons excite hot electrons and hot holes in a plasmonic nanoparticle, which are then injected into an adjacent semiconductor quantum well where they radiatively recombine to emit a photon of higher energy. We theoretically study the proposed upconversion scheme using Fermi-liquid theory and determine the upconversion quantum efficiency to be as high as 25% in 5 nm silver nanocubes. This upconversion scheme is linear in its operation, does not require coherent illumination, offers spectral tunability, and is more efficient than conventional upconverters.

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Gururaj V. Naik, Jennifer A. Dionne. 2015-01-17. Photon Upconversion with Hot Carriers in Plasmonic Systems. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4932127

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