Surface And Volume Photoeffect From Metal Nanoparticles With Electron Mass Discontinuity

Internal quantum efficiencies of the surface photoemission (SPE) and the volume photoemission (VPE) from metal nanoparticles into a semiconductor environment are found and compared with each other, taking into account the discontinuity in the electron effective mass on the metal-semiconductor interface. It is found that SPE is less sensitive to the discontinuity of the electron effective mass than VPE. This advantage, along with other advantages, makes SPE more efficient than VPE for generation of hot electrons from small metal nanoparticles. General formulas for quantum efficiencies and analytical expressions for quantum efficiency on the red photoeffect limit are presented. High efficiency of SPE from spherical gold nanoparticles with the step potential barrier on the metal-semiconductor interface is demonstrated.