posted on 2023-11-14, 16:08authored byBeyza
Nur Günaydın, Mert Gülmez, Milad Torabfam, Zeki Semih Pehlivan, Atacan Tütüncüoğlu, Cemre Irmak Kayalan, Erhan Saatçioğlu, Mustafa Kemal Bayazıt, Meral Yüce, Hasan Kurt
Group IVB metal nitrides
have attracted great interest as alternative
plasmonic materials. Among them, titanium nitride (TiN) stands out
due to the ease of deposition and relative abundance of Ti compared
to those of Zr and Hf metals. Even though they do not have Au or Ag-like
plasmonic characteristics, they offer many advantages, from high mechanical
stability to refractory behavior and complementary metal oxide semiconductor-compatible
fabrication to tunable electrical/optical properties. In this study,
we utilized reactive RF magnetron sputtering to deposit plasmonic
TiN thin films. The flow rate and ratio of Ar/N2 and oxygen
scavenging methods were optimized to improve the plasmonic performance
of TiN thin films. The stoichiometry and structure of the TiN thin
films were thoroughly investigated to assess the viability of the
optimized operation procedures. To assess the plasmonic performance
of TiN thin films, periodic nanohole arrays were perforated on TiN
thin films by using electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching
methods. The resulting TiN periodic nanohole array with varying periods
was investigated by using a custom microspectroscopy setup for both
reflection and transmission characteristics in various media to underline
the efficacy of TiN for refractometric sensing.