Photoemission from metal nanoparticles

The approach of A M Brodsky and Yu Ya Gurevich is generalized to photoemission from metal nanoparticles at the excitation of a localized plasmon resonance (LPR) in them. The cross section and the probability amplitude of photoemission from a nanoparticle are obtained analytically, taking into account the LPR excitation and the electromagnetic field and photoelectron mass changes at the metal–environment interface. An increase by two orders of magnitude in the photocurrent from a layer of Au nanoparticles to silicon compared to a bulk Au layer is predicted due to an increase in the electromagnetic field strength under the excitation of LPR and due to a significant part of the nanoparticle surface being nonparallel to the incident field polarization. Practicable applications of the results include improving the performance of photocells and photodetectors, and probably reducing the minimum photoeffect time.