Estimation of sensing characteristics for refractory nitrides based gain assisted core-shell plasmonic nanoparticles

Abstract

Refractory transition metal nitrides such as zirconium nitride (ZrN), hafnium nitride (HfN) and titanium nitride (TiN) have emerged as viable alternatives to coinage metals based plasmonic materials, e.g., gold (Au) and silver (Ag). The present work assesses the suitability of gain assisted ZrN-, HfN- and TiN-based conventional core-shell nanoparticles (CCSNPs) and multilayered core-shell nanoparticles (MCSNPs) for refractive index sensing. We report that the optical gain incorporation in the dielectric layer leads to multifold enhancement of the scattering efficiency (Qsca), substantial reduction of the spectral full width at half maximum, and a higher figure of merit (FOM). In comparison with CCSNPs, the MCSNP system exhibits superior sensing characteristics such as higher FOM, ∼ 45% reduction in the critical optical gain, response shift towards the biological window, and higher degree of tunability. Inherent biocompatibility, growth compatibility, chemical stability and flexible spectral tuning of refractory nitrides augmented by superior sensing properties in the present work may pave the way for refractory nitrides based low cost sensing.

Refractory Plasmonics of Reactively Sputtered Hafnium Nitride Nanoparticles: Pushing Limits

“…Of the three TMNs of group four, HfN NPs are the least studied, partly because of the complexity of synthesis approaches. [24,25] Few studies have explored HfN NPs as plasmonic sensors, [26] plasmonic thermal hotspots, [27][28][29] direct absorption solar collectors [30] or catalysts for the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction, [31] but they have not addressed the issue of thermal stability of the optoelectronic properties.…”

Fano Resonance-Based Blood Plasma Monitoring and Sensing using Plasmonic Nanomatryoshka

“…Such structures will provide a better platform for switching, spasing, molecular energy transfer, energy harvesting, bacteria detection, cancer therapy, etc. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Plasmonic systems are emerging as the backbone of medical diagnostics, e.g., large efforts of physicists, chemists, biologists, and material scientists, are focused on the development of an ultrasensitive plasmonic sensor for bio-molecular sensing.…”

“…for existing plasmonic-based devices [35][36][37][38][39][40]. In our previous work, it was examined that the refractory transition metal nitrides (RTMNs) like ZrN and HfN show plasmonic properties similar to the conventional plasmonic material Au [7,8]. Hence, refractory transition metal nitrides (i.e., ZrN, TiN, and HfN) and the ternary alloy (Ti x Zr 1-x N) exhibit attractive plasmonic properties which play a crucial role in designing a better platform for refractive index sensing/detection.…”