Optical properties of biaxial van der Waals crystals for photonic applications
A. Slavich1, G. Ermolaev1, I. Zavidovsky1, D. Grudinin1, M. Tatmyshevskiy1, K. Kravtsov1, A. Toksumakov1, O. Matveeva1, A. Syuy1, A. Vyshnevyy1, I. Kruglov1, D. Yakubovsky1, S. Novikov1, D. Ghazaryan1, A. Arsenin1, V. Volkov2
1- Center for Photonics and 2D Materials, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia 2- Emerging Technologies Research Center, XPANCEO, Dubai Investment Park First, Dubai, United Arab
Emirates
Advancements in nanophotonic devices rely on materials with high refractive indices and optical anisotropy [1]. Van der Waals (vdW) crystals have garnered considerable interest due to their high refractive indices and intrinsic anisotropic properties arising from their complex layered structures [2-4]. In this study, we introduce a novel method for the identification and characterization of anisotropic materials. Using a combination of spectroscopic ellipsometry, polarized micro-transmittance, and Raman spectroscopy, we determine the optical constants of vdW microcrystals. Our experimental results reveal exceptional optical properties in the visible and near-ultraviolet ranges, characterized by strong optical anisotropy and high refractive indices. These findings suggest that such materials can significantly enhance the functionality of nanophotonic devices, enabling applications such as smart lenses, ultrathin wave plates and polarization-sensitive flexible photodetectors. This work also presents the theoretical and experimental data on the application of these results in next-generation optical devices.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 22-19-00558).
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