Nanoparticle Plasmonics with Transition Metal Nitrides

Urcan Guler, Purdue University

Abstract

Promising designs and experimental realizations of devices with unusual properties in the field of plasmonics have attracted great deal of attention over the past few decades. However, high expectations on realized technology products have not been met so far. The main complication is the absence of robust, high performance, low cost plasmonic materials that can be easily integrated into already established technologies such as microelectronics. This research provides a comparison of alternative plasmonic materials for localized surface plasmon applications and focuses on transition metal nitrides, in particular, titanium nitride, which has recently been shown to be a high performance plasmonic material that could replace and even outperform gold in various plasmonic devices. As a material compatible with biological environments and the semiconductor industry, titanium nitride possesses superior properties compared to noble metals such as high temperature durability, chemical stability, corrosion resistance, low cost and mechanical hardness. It has been shown that titanium nitride nanoparticles are better alternatives to Au nanoparticles for local heating applications such as thermal therapy, solar thermophotovoltaics and heat assisted magnetic recording.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Shalaev, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Physics|Electromagnetics|Optics

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