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A Noble‐Transition Alloy Excels at Hot‐Carrier Generation in the Near Infrared
Author(s) -
Stofela Sara K. F.,
Kizilkaya Orhan,
Diroll Benjamin T.,
Leite Tiago R.,
Taheri Mohammad M.,
Willis Daniel E.,
Baxter Jason B.,
Shelton William A.,
Sprunger Phillip T.,
McPeak Kevin M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201906478
Subject(s) - materials science , infrared , alloy , charge carrier , optoelectronics , photon , excited state , noble gas , carrier lifetime , wavelength , noble metal , transition metal , optics , atomic physics , metallurgy , silicon , catalysis , metal , chemistry , physics , biochemistry
Above‐equilibrium “hot”‐carrier generation in metals is a promising route to convert photons into electrical charge for efficient near‐infrared optoelectronics. However, metals that offer both hot‐carrier generation in the near‐infrared and sufficient carrier lifetimes remain elusive. Alloys can offer emergent properties and new design strategies compared to pure metals. Here, it is shown that a noble‐transition alloy, Au x Pd 1− x , outperforms its constituent metals concerning generation and lifetime of hot carriers when excited in the near‐infrared. At optical fiber wavelengths (e.g., 1550 nm), Au 50 Pd 50 provides a 20‐fold increase in the number of ≈0.8 eV hot holes, compared to Au, and a threefold increase in the carrier lifetime, compared to Pd. The discovery that noble‐transition alloys can excel at hot‐carrier generation reveals a new material platform for near‐infrared optoelectronic devices.