Abstract
We demonstrate that almost 100% of incident photons can interact with a monolayer of scatterers in a symmetrical environment. Nearly perfect optical extinction through free-standing transparent nanorod arrays has been measured. The sharp spectral opacity window, in the form of a characteristic Fano resonance, arises from the coherent multiple scattering in the array. In addition, we show that nanorods made of absorbing material exhibit a 25-fold absorption enhancement per unit volume compared to unstructured thin film. These results open new perspectives for light management in high-, low volume dielectric nanostructures, with potential applications in optical systems, spectroscopy, and optomechanics.
- Received 6 February 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.143903
© 2012 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Nanoweb Catches Light
Published 4 October 2012
Experiments show that normally transparent nanorods can absorb or reflect nearly of light at a specific wavelength when the rods are arranged in a periodic two-dimensional array.
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