Plasmonic Properties of Titanium Nitride Materials

Titanium nitride (TiN) has emerged as a versatile plasmonic material, offering a compelling combination of metallic behaviour in the visible and near-infrared regions, high thermal stability and compatibility with standard semiconductor processing. Unlike traditional noble metals, TiN exhibits a negative real part of its dielectric function across a broad spectral range and supports both localised surface plasmon resonances and propagating surface plasmon polaritons with comparatively low loss. Its refractory nature enables operation under harsh conditions and elevated temperatures, while a self-passivating oxide layer affords additional surface functionalisation. Applications span photothermal therapy, sensing, photocatalysis, integrated plasmonic interconnects and broadband energy harvesting. Recent advances in synthesis—ranging from direct laser ablation and room-temperature sputtering to carbon doping and heterostructure fabrication—have further enhanced TiN’s plasmonic performance and opened pathways to CMOS-compatible devices and sustainable photocatalytic systems.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Investigations into the comparative plasmonic efficiencies of TiN and other metal nitrides have revealed that while TiN nanoparticles deliver localised resonances of similar magnitude and wavelength to gold, their near-field enhancement peaks at around 60 %, making them ideal nanosources of heat for thermoplasmonic applications rather than extreme field confinement. Laser-synthesised TiN nanoparticles have demonstrated a broad absorption band centred in the therapeutic window (640–700 nm), low cytotoxicity and effective photothermal therapy against cancer cell models, with a native oxide shell serving as a versatile platform for surface chemistry. In parallel, a room-temperature reactive sputtering process has produced TiN thin films and nanodisk arrays with one of the largest negative dielectric functions reported, supporting strong plasmonic resonances and seamless integration into CMOS-based photonic architectures without high-temperature processing.

Plasmonic Properties of Titanium Nitride Materials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in plasmonic properties of titanium nitride materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Localised Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR): Collective oscillation of conduction electrons confined within metallic nanoparticles, producing strong light absorption and field enhancement at resonant wavelengths.

Surface Plasmon Polaritons (SPP): Electromagnetic waves coupled to charge-density oscillations that propagate along a metal–dielectric interface, enabling subwavelength light guidance.

Hot carriers: Highly energetic electrons or holes generated by plasmon decay that can be harvested for photocatalysis or photodetection before thermalisation.

Dielectric function: Complex material parameter describing the frequency-dependent response of electrons to an external electromagnetic field; its real part dictates plasmonic resonance conditions.

Refractory plasmonics: Plasmonic systems based on high-melting-point materials, such as TiN, that retain metallic properties under extreme thermal and environmental stresses.

References

1. Enhanced plasmonic photocatalytic performance of C doped TiN nanocrystals through ultrathin carbon layers. Journal of Environmental Management (2023).
2. Ultrabroadband absorptive refractory plasmonics for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions. NPG Asia Materials (2024).
3. Titanium nitride as a plasmonic material for visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Optical Materials Express (2012).
4. Plasmonic efficiencies of nanoparticles made of metal nitrides (TiN, ZrN) compared with gold. Scientific Reports (2016).
5. Laser- synthesized TiN nanoparticles as promising plasmonic alternative for biomedical applications. Scientific Reports (2019).
6. Highly Plasmonic Titanium Nitride by Room-Temperature Sputtering. Scientific Reports (2019).
7. Experimental demonstration of titanium nitride plasmonic interconnects. Optics Express (2014).