Issue 18, 2021

Hot carriers in graphene – fundamentals and applications

Abstract

Hot charge carriers in graphene exhibit fascinating physical phenomena, whose understanding has improved greatly over the past decade. They have distinctly different physical properties compared to, for example, hot carriers in conventional metals. This is predominantly the result of graphene's linear energy–momentum dispersion, its phonon properties, its all-interface character, and the tunability of its carrier density down to very small values, and from electron- to hole-doping. Since a few years, we have witnessed an increasing interest in technological applications enabled by hot carriers in graphene. Of particular interest are optical and optoelectronic applications, where hot carriers are used to detect (photodetection), convert (nonlinear photonics), or emit (luminescence) light. Graphene-enabled systems in these application areas could find widespread use and have a disruptive impact, for example in the field of data communication, high-frequency electronics, and industrial quality control. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the most relevant physics and working principles that are relevant for applications exploiting hot carriers in graphene.

Graphical abstract: Hot carriers in graphene – fundamentals and applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
28 12 2020
Accepted
30 3 2021
First published
29 4 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2021,13, 8376-8411

Hot carriers in graphene – fundamentals and applications

M. Massicotte, G. Soavi, A. Principi and K. Tielrooij, Nanoscale, 2021, 13, 8376 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR09166A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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