Photoresponse from Silver Nanowires is possible

Our new study published in Nanoscale Horizons shows that photoresponse from silver nanowires is possible thanks to the plasmonic enhancement of the photo-bolometric effect. In this study we elucidated the photoresponse mechanisms of single silver nanowires and their network devices. Photoresponse in metallic low dimensional materials is not common and only a few examples, such as carbon nanotubes, and 3R-NbS2 and 2H-TaS2, have been studied so far. In this study, we showed that there is a significant photoresponse of silver nanowires enhanced by the plasmonic heating at the nanowire-contact junctions. We further demonstrated that by increasing the plasmonic coupling points by decorating the nanowires with silver nanoparticles, the responsivity can be as large as an order of magnitude less than in silicon pn-junctions. Both the photoresponse and the mechanism have been introduced for the first time in the literature. The results we present in this paper might be important in the development of all-metallic simple photodetectors and plasmonic sensors. In particular, the prospects of being able to detect target molecules in devices with silver nanowires modified with antibodies using the photocurrent may eliminate the requirement for complicated surface plasmon resonance-based detection setups. The facile route to fabricating the devices reported in this manuscript may enable novel passive optoelectronic devices and sensors.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2022/NH/D1NH00629K