CMOS-compatible fabrication of plasmonic materials and devices will accelerate the development of integrated nanophotonics for information processing applications. Using low-temperature plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD), we develop a recipe for fully CMOS-compatible titanium nitride (TiN) that is plasmonic in the visible and near infrared. Films are grown on silicon, silicon dioxide, and epitaxially on magnesium oxide substrates. By optimizing the plasma exposure per growth cycle during PEALD, carbon and oxygen contamination are reduced, lowering undesirable loss. We use electron beam lithography to pattern TiN nanopillars with varying diameters on silicon in large-area arrays. In the first reported single-particle measurements on plasmonic TiN, we demonstrate size-tunable darkfield scattering spectroscopy in the visible and near infrared regimes. The optical properties of this CMOS-compatible material, combined with its high melting temperature and mechanical durability, comprise a step towards fully CMOS-integrated nanophotonic information processing.

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Non-Hermitian parity-time (PT)-symmetric optical potentials have led to a new class of unidirectional photonic components based on the spatially symmetric and balanced inclusion of loss and gain. While most proposed and implemented PT-symmetric optical devices have wavelength-scale dimensions, no physical constraints preclude development of subwavelength PT-symmetric components. We theoretically demonstrate a nanoscale PT-symmetric, all-optical plasmonic modulator capable of phase-controlled amplification and directional absorption. The modulator consists of two deeply subwavelength channels composed of either gain or loss dielectric material, embedded in a metallic cladding. When illuminating on-resonance by two counter-propagating plane waves, the aperture's total output can be modulated by changing the phase offset between the two waves. Modulation depths are greater than 10 dB, with output power varying from less than one half of the incident power to more than six times amplification. Off-resonance, the aperture possesses strong phase-controlled directionality with the output from one side varying from perfect absorption to strong scattering and transmission. The device design provides a platform for nanoscale all-optical modulators with gain while potentially enabling coherent perfect absorption and lasing in a single, compact structure.

Two-dimensional electron systems with fascinating properties exist in multilayers of standard semiconductors, on helium surfaces, and in oxides. Compared to the two-dimensional (2D) electron gases of semiconductors, the 2D electron systems in oxides are typically more strongly correlated and more sensitive to the microscopic structure of the hosting lattice. This sensitivity suggests that the oxide 2D systems are highly tunable by hydrostatic pressure. Here we explore the effects of hydrostatic pressure on the well-characterized 2D electron system formed at LaAlO3-SrTiO3 interfaces 1 and measure a pronounced, unexpected response. Pressure of ∼2 GPa reversibly doubles the 2D carrier density ns at 4 K. Along with the increase of ns, the conductivity and mobility are reduced under pressure. First-principles pressure simulations reveal the same behavior of the carrier density and suggest a possible mechanism of the mobility reduction, based on the dielectric properties of both materials and their variation under external pressure.

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