Plasmon-mediated exciton–phonon coupling in a ZnO microtower cavity

Abstract

Due to its characteristics of altitudinal spatial localization and intense near-field enhancement, the use of surface plasmons (SPs) has been proposed as a promising method to enhance the photoelectric conversion efficiency through light–matter interactions. In order to deeply understand the processes of energy coupling, an enhanced exciton–phonon coupling in the temperature-dependent photoluminescence (TDPL) spectra of a ZnO microtower cavity decorated with Al nanoparticles has been reported and thus reveals the lattice vibration induced by the coupling of SPs. The lasing characteristics such as laser threshold and spectral shift are investigated at room temperature and the SP-mediated energy coupling between excitons and phonons is also further verified.