Researchers discover a new path for light through metal - Researchers from Purdue University have coaxed a thin film of titanium nitride into transporting plasmons, tiny electron excitations coupled to light that can direct and manipulate optical signals on the nanoscale. Titanium nitride's addition to the short list of surface-plasmon-supporting materials, formerly comprised only of metals, could point the way to a new class of optoelectronic devices with unprecedented speed and efficiency. Their findings were published in the OSA journal Optical Materials Express. Reference: "Titanium nitride as a plasmonic material for visible and near-infrared wavelengths (http://www.opticsinfobase.org/ome/abstract.cfm?uri=ome-2-4-478)," Naik et al., Optical Materials Express, Vol. Vol. 2, Issue 4, pp. 478-489 (2012).