Spectroscopic Analysis of Asymmetric Metal-Insulator-Metal Structure with Metallic Nitrides Formed by Pulsed Lasr Deposition

Abstract

Subwavelength metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure has been studied to create a novel optical probe. The MIM structure will be applied to a sharpened tip of single mode optical fiber, and it might act as both a narrow bandpass filter and an excitation module of surface plasmon polariton (SPP). Toward total nitriding process, hot pressed targets of microcrystalline powder of metallic nitrides (TiN, AlN, ZrN) are selected. The films have been grown in high vacuum system by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method using third harmonic (λ=355nm, 350mJ/pulse, 10Hz) pulses of injection-seeded Nd:YAG laser. As previous research has established a process to deposit the films, authors have started to make the MIM structure in the consecutive process of PLD by changing the hot pressed target without air exposure. To avoid negative effects of residual oxygen and nitrogen depletion. Spectroscopic analysis, such as spectral reflectivity, SEM observation, and XPS spectrum, of the MIM structure will be reported and discussed with several results of numerical electromagnetic simulation based on a finite element method.