Effect of buffer layer on dynamic procedure of hot-electrons injection in Au/Ag NRs@SiO2@ZnO:Ga MW

Abstract

Surface plasmons (SPs) have been extensively utilized to improve the light-emission of semiconductor devices due to their exceptional light harvesting capability. Upon light excitation, hot-electrons derived from surface plasmons resonance (SPR) of metallic nanostructures can be injected into adjacent semiconductors, thereby increasing the carrier concentration. Moreover, electrical driving can also cause the incandescent-type light source composed of Au/Ag nanorods (Au/Ag NRs) decorated with single Ga-doped ZnO microwire (Au/Ag NRs@ZnO:Ga MW) to emit red-light. In this study, we focus on the dynamic procedure of the hot-electrons injection under the electrical driving by introducing buffer layer of silica into Au/Ag NRs@ZnO:Ga MW. Benefiting from the SPs, the incandescent-type light with central wavelength located at the near-infrared region can be observed. By modulating the thickness of buffer layer, we investigate the variation in the emission wavelength of MW, reflecting the influence of SPs-hot-electrons interactions on emission dynamic procedure.