Abstract
Numerous bio-organisms employ template-assisted crystallization of molecular solids to yield crystal morphologies with unique optical properties that are difficult to reproduce synthetically. Here, a facile procedure is presented to deposit bio-inspired birefringent crystals of xanthine derivatives on a template of single-crystal quartz. Crystalline sheets that are several millimeters in length, several hundred micrometers in width, and 300–600 nm thick, are obtained. The crystal sheets are characterized with a well-defined orientation both in and out of the substrate plane, giving rise to high optical anisotropy in the plane parallel to the quartz surface, with a refractive index difference Δn ≈ 0.25 and a refractive index along the slow axis of n ≈ 1.7. It is further shown that patterning of the crystalline stripes with a tailored periodic grating leads to a thin organic polarization-dependent diffractive meta-surface, opening the door to the fabrication of various optical devices from a platform of small-molecule based organic dielectric crystals.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 2306996 |
Journal | Advanced Materials |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 8 |
Early online date | 29 Nov 2023 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 22 Feb 2024 |
Keywords
- birefringence
- crystallization
- optical-metamaterials
- xanthine
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Materials Science
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering