Plasmonic nanostructures in photodetection, energy conversion and beyond

Abstract This review article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of plasmonic nanostructures and their applications, especially on the integration of plasmonic nanostructures into devices. Over the past decades, plasmonic nanostructures and their applications have been intensively studied because of their outstanding features at the nanoscale. The fundamental characteristics of plasmonic nanostructures, in particular, the electric field enhancement, the generation of hot electrons, and thermoplasmonic effects, play essential roles in most of the practical applications. In general, these three main characteristics of plasmonic nanostructures occur concomitantly when electromagnetic waves interact with plasmonic nanostructures. However, comprehensive review investigating these three main effects of plasmonic nanostructures simultaneously remains elusive. In this article, the fundamental characteristics of plasmonic nanostructures are discussed, especially the interactions between electromagnetic waves and plasmonic nanostructures that lead to the change in near-field electric fields, the conversion of photon energy into hot electrons through plasmon decay, and the photothermal effects at the nanoscale. The applications, challenges faced in these three areas and the future trends are also discussed. This article will provide guidance towards integration of plasmonic nanostructures for functional devices for both academic researchers and engineers in the fields of silicon photonics, photodetection, sensing, and energy harvesting.