Distinguishing thermal from non-thermal ("hot") carries in illuminated molecular junctions

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical framework for distinguishing non-thermal 'hot' electrons from thermal electrons in illuminated plasmonic molecular junctions, aiding experimental identification of non-equilibrium electron distributions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel theory that enables direct measurement and separation of non-thermal electrons from thermal responses in plasmonic molecular junctions.

Findings

Non-thermal electrons can be measured separately from thermal effects.

The theory aligns with recent experimental observations.

Provides a method to identify hot electrons in nanostructures.

Abstract

The search for the signature of non-thermal (so-called ``hot'') electrons in illuminated plasmonic nanostructures requires a detailed understanding of the non-equilibrium electron distribution under illumination, as well as a careful design of the experimental system employed to distinguish non-thermal electrons from thermal ones. Here, we provide a theory for using plasmonic molecular junctions to achieve this goal. We show how non-thermal electrons can be measured directly and separately from the unavoidable thermal response, and discuss the relevance of our theory to recent experiments.