Pt nanoparticles utilized as efficient ultraviolet plasmons for enhancing whispering gallery mode lasing of a ZnO microwire via Ga-incorporation

Introducing nanostructured metals with ultraviolet plasmonic characters has attracted much attention for fabricating high performance optoelectronic devices in the shorter wavelength spectrum. In this work, platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) with controlled plasmonic responses in ultraviolet wavelengths were successfully synthesized. To demonstrate the promising availability, PtNPs with desired sizes were deposited on a hexagonal ZnO microwire via Ga-doping (PtNPs@ZnO:Ga MW). Under ultraviolet illumination, typical near-band-edge emission of ZnO:Ga MW was considerably enhanced; meanwhile, the photocurrent is much larger than that of the bare MW. Thereby, the enhanced phenomena of a ZnO:Ga MW is related to localized surface plasmon resonances of the decorated PtNPs. A single MW with a hexagonal cross-section can be a potential platform to construct a whispering gallery mode (WGM) cavity due to its total inner wall reflection. Given this, the influence of PtNPs via ultraviolet plasmons on lasing features of the ZnO:Ga MW was tested. The lasing characteristics are significantly enhanced, including lasing output enhancement, a clear reduction of the threshold and the improvement of the quality factor. To exploit the working principle, PtNPs serving as powerful ultraviolet plasmons can couple with ZnO:Ga excitons, accelerating radiative recombination. Since fabricating stable, typical nanostructured metals with ultraviolet plasmons remains a challenging issue, the results illustrated in the work may offer a low-cost and efficient scheme for achieving plasmon-enhanced wide-bandgap semiconductor based ultraviolet optoelectronic devices with excellent performances.