Ultrafast thermoelectric effects in plasmonic nanostructures

The control of heat at the nanoscale has attracted significant interest over the last decade due to its impact on the function and performance of nanophotonic devices with nanometric footprints. Here, we present a conceptually new approach whereby plasmon resonances in plasmonic nanostructures can be leveraged to create ultrafast nanoscale electric fields, arising from transient thermoelectric effects due to the presence of substantial temperature gradients across the nanostructures. We consider both metallic nanoparticles and nanostructured graphene as suitable platforms to engineer such ultrafast thermoelectric phenomena, and provide designing rules to generate and probe the associated ultrafast electric fields. Our work opens an enticing new direction for understanding photo-electron-phonon interactions and manipulating heat at the nanoscale.