Metal nanoparticle-semiconductor nanowire hybrid nanostructures for plasmon-enhanced optoelectronics and sensing

Plasmonic metal nanoparticles have recently attracted increasing interest due to their nanosized dimensions, tunable optical properties in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum and easy manufacturing. Although the optical properties of these sub-wavelength objects arising from plasmonic resonances have been extensively investigated in both isolated and assembled structures, their rational integration in 1D semiconductor-based devices for generation of engineered properties is a novel and vastly unexplored field. In particular, development of metal nanoparticle-1D semiconductor hybrid nanostructures has been hampered by a number of challenges including limited control of component assembly processes and modest theoretical and experimental understanding of fundamental physical phenomena occurring in such hybrids. In this feature article, we describe recent progress in fabrication methods and review the relevant plasmonic properties of metal nanoparticles that can be exploited to manipulate, enhance and optimize the performance of semiconductor nanowire-based devices. Finally, we explore the enhanced properties of hybrid metal nanoparticle-semiconductor nanowire structures and describe their application in optoelectronics and sensing.