Plasmonic semiconductors: materials, tunability and applications

Semiconductor plasmonics has become a frontier for light manipulation beyond the diffraction limit, offering a broader spectral range and higher flexibility of plasmon resonances. Due to versatile and unique plasmonic properties, semiconductor nanostructures hold high promise in a plethora of applications, such as integrated photonics, solar energy, and biosciences. This review discusses the advances in semiconductor plasmonics, establishing links among the distinctive nanostructures, tailorable plasmon properties, and ever-expanding applications. It sheds light on the characters and dynamics of plasmons in semiconductors throughout their lifetime. The review then showcases representative plasmonic semiconductors while sketching a roadmap on tailoring plasmonic response in semiconductor platforms spanning nanocrystals, metasurfaces and heterostructures. Next, the overview of plasmonic semiconductor applications highlights the relevance of pronounced plasmon resonance with mitigated loss and the utilization of damping-induced hot carriers and thermalization. Finally, we conclude by envisioning the prospects and challenges of this field.