Searching for better plasmonic materials

TLDR

Plasmonics merges optics and nanoelectronics to confine light at the nanometer scale, yet prevailing materials suffer high losses that limit the practicality of telecommunication and optical devices. The study aims to guide the selection of plasmonic materials by outlining an approach for achieving optimal properties tailored to specific frequencies and applications. The authors compare metals, alloys, and heavily doped semiconductors, evaluating each with quality‑factor metrics for different device classes. The comparative analysis yields a reference framework that identifies which materials best meet the performance requirements for targeted plasmonic applications.

Abstract

Abstract Plasmonics is a research area merging the fields of optics and nanoelectronics by confining light with relatively large free‐space wavelength to the nanometer scale ‐ thereby enabling a family of novel devices. Current plasmonic devices at telecommunication and optical frequencies face significant challenges due to losses encountered in the constituent plasmonic materials. These large losses seriously limit the practicality of these metals for many novel applications. This paper provides an overview of alternative plasmonic materials along with motivation for each material choice and important aspects of fabrication. A comparative study of various materials including metals, metal alloys and heavily doped semiconductors is presented. The performance of each material is evaluated based on quality factors defined for each class of plasmonic devices. Most importantly, this paper outlines an approach for realizing optimal plasmonic material properties for specific frequencies and applications, thereby providing a reference for those searching for better plasmonic materials.