The field of plasmonics has been evolving into a multidisciplinary research field with a focus on materials development for application specific requirements. Identification and development of new material systems for use in a variety of applications; such as energy harvesting, sensing, therapeutics, and waveguiding, has been one of the core efforts in the field over the last few years. In this talk, we will present transition metal nitrides as alternative plasmonic materials with refractory properties that enable the use of plasmonic components in applications that impose harsh environmental conditions. Refractory metamaterials are designed and characterized for sensing and spectrally selective emission at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, titanium nitride nanoparticles are used in plasmon enhanced photocatalysis where a higher photocurrent enhancement is observed when compared to gold nanoparticles. Zirconium nitride thin films with lower optical losses compared to other metal nitrides are developed. Temperature dependence of dielectric permittivity is studied for plasmonic metals and transition metal nitrides. It is observed that optical losses increase with increasing temperatures, which results in further internal heating of the plasmonic material. Alternative fabrication techniques for refractory plasmonic materials will also be discussed. Our recent results show that complex plasmonic titanium nitride nanostructures can be obtained via nitridation of titania, which has a well understood material synthesis. The morphology, crystal structure, composition and optical properties of resulting nanoparticles confirm a successful nitridation process.

Plasmonic transition metal nitrides for harsh-environment photonic applications

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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