Nanoheating and Nanoconduction with Near‐Field Plasmonics: Prospects for Harnessing the Moiré and Seebeck Effects in Ultrathin Films

• Published in: Advanced optical materials 2022-12, Vol.10 (23), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Bello, Frank Daniel, Clarke, Daniel D. A., Tarasenko, Illya, Donegan, John F., Hess, Ortwin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Data processing; Electric contacts; Graphene; Light sources; Luminous intensity; Materials science; Moiré effect; nanoconduction; nanoheating; nanoplasmonics; Nanotechnology devices; Optics; Peltier effect; Plasmonics; Quantum electrodynamics; Quantum phenomena; Seebeck effect; Steering; Temperature distribution; Thermal conductivity; Thin films; Transducers
• ISSN: 2195-1071; 2195-1071
• DOI: 10.1002/adom.202201358

Near‐field plasmonics is a burgeoning field that has unlocked several opportunities related to quantum information processing, single‐molecule spectroscopy, and cavity quantum electrodynamics. All of which require the adept control of light, heat, and charges on the nanoscale. In particular, nanoresonators and near‐field transducers (NFTs) have the ability to subdiffract light well below the classical diffraction limit by coupling a photon mode to a plasmonic mode. Herein, advantage is taken of a nanoscale plasmonic light source produced by an NFT and the subsequent “hot spot” created by its relatively high intensity. It is theoretically demonstrated how the light, heat, and current produced can be manipulated when incident on layers of black phosphorous (BP), a highly abundant material with electric and thermal conductivity values comparable to graphene. Moiré physics of two films rotated relative to one another, along with the Seebeck effect for which temperature gradients show the possibility to induce electrical voltages (milli‐Volts) without a metallic contact, is specifically investigated. It is found that these methods can effectively regulate the temperature distribution and its values by roughly 101–102 K, crucial to the functionality of many nanodevices, and furthermore manipulate the directional flow of current; advantageous for electrical switching and output steering of energy. Manipulation of near‐field heat and electric charge on the nanoscale is highly desired for applications such as quantum sensing, information processing, and energy conversion devices. The authors demonstrate the robust potential of how the Moiré and Seebeck effects can be used within films of a few atomic layers to control the nanoconduction and nanoheating produced from a near‐field plasmonic light source.