Systematic investigation of transition metal nitrides (ZrN,TiN) based plasmonic multilayered core-shell nanoparticle for sensing

Sub-wavelength confinement and gigantic electric field enhancement capability of surface plasmons (SPs) have found immense application in-field sensing and detection. The suitability of new transition metal nitrides (TMNs) based plasmonic materials such as Titanium nitride (TiN), and Zirconium nitride (ZrN), are assessed for sensing application and compared with conventional plasmonic material Gold (Au). We report a gain-assisted multilayered core shell-based refractive index sensor for sensing the different concentrations of NaCl in water. Our Mie theory-based calculation interpret that the sensitivity of gain assisted multilayer core-shell nanoparticle (MCSNP) for Au, ZrN, and TiN are 40.61 nm/RIU, 47.09 nm/RIU, and 48.47 nm/RIU respectively and Figure of merit (FOM) are achieved in order of 106107 range. The critical gain requirement to compensate the plasmonic metallic loss in ZrN is comparable to Au except for TiN. The present theoretical study indicates superior scattering efficiency and sensitivity of nitrides, which is further augmented by better tunability. Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Innovation and Application in Science and Technology.