Title: Plasmonic properties of refractory titanium nitride,
Abstract: The development of plasmonic and metamaterial devices requires the research
of high-performance materials, alternative to standard noble metals. Renewed as
refractory stable compound for durable coatings, titanium nitride has been
recently proposed as an efficient plasmonic material. Here, by using a first
principles approach, we investigate the plasmon dispersion relations of TiN
bulk and we predict the effect of pressure on its optoelectronic properties.
Our results explain the main features of TiN in the visible range and prove a
universal scaling law which relates its mechanical and plasmonic properties as
a function of pressure. Finally, we address the formation and stability of
surface-plasmon polaritons at different TiN/dielectric interfaces proposed by
recent experiments. The unusual combination of plasmonics and refractory
features paves the way for the realization of plasmonic devices able to work at
conditions not sustainable by usual noble metals.