Plasmonic Copper: Ways and Means of Achieving, Directing, and Utilizing Surface Plasmons.

Copper has been reclusive with regard to its plasmonic investigations among the founding plasmonic metals. With the advent of technology and the associated improvements in understanding of plasmonics, copper has been able to make a stand for itself among its peers and even outshine them in a few aspects such as dielectric loss, cost, and a more intricate and facile tuning of the near and far field intensities of the plasmon-enhanced distributions. This review is aimed at highlighting the different classes of plasmonic copper (PC), ranging from its pristine version to the array of composited and alloyed compositions. The focus is on an all-encompassing review of PC with regard to its shortcomings and merits, its exploration for plasmonic applications, and emerging phenomena discovered due to the plasmonic virtue. We aim to bring about a comprehensive treatise of the investigations on PC, where the major discussions are on the topics of a generic treatise on surface plasmons (both localized and propagating), pristine copper and its potential for different applications, the almost inescapable phenomenon of oxidation, and the associations that copper has been made to form in order to be exploited for multiple uses such as chalcogenides, silicides, alloys, and other metamaterial architectures. Specific outcomes of the changes to the near and far-field distributions of PC in various conditions such as oxidized/alloyed/composited and stabilized have been discussed, highlighting the changes to PC in lieu of these modifications. The concluding sections highlight some fascinating compositions including multi-elemental copper and its atomic clusters and cursorily studied compositions which are among the few materials that could offer untapped capabilities which will be made evident from brief glimpses of their plasmonic character. The outlook for plasmonic copper has never been more promising, ranging from the need for comprehensive investigations of emerging material compositions and configurations (of both pristine and composited copper) to the realm of commercialization. Copper has, thus, been projected to be a viable alternative to existing options including the poster children of plasmonics, namely, silver and gold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]