Plasmonic properties of titanium nitride thin films prepared by ion beam assisted deposition

Titanium nitride (TiNx) is regarded as a kind of promising plasmonic material for its high performances. We studied the influence of nitrogen partial pressure pn and deposition temperature Td on the structural and plasmonic properties of the TiNx thin films prepared by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). The results show that IBAD is an effective method to tailor the plasmonic properties of TiNx films in visible and near-IR region. The plasmonic properties of the films have significant Td and pn dependence. Higher pn and lower Td can reduce the plasma frequency and the plasmon resonance. Higher pn and higher Td can reduce the optical loss of the samples. The modification of the plasmonic properties is related to the variation of nitrogen content. •The plasmonic properties of IBAD-TiNx films can be tuned by N2 partial pressure pn and deposition temperature Td.•Lower pn and higher Td can enhance the plasma frequency.•The optical loss of the samples is influenced little by pn, but reduced obviously by higher Td.•The plasmon resonance is reduced by higher pn and lower Td.