Giant Polarizing Effect from Strongly Absorptive 20-nm Nano-wires: Absorptive Nano-wire Polarizers

Large area (200-mm in diameter) 20-nm wide and 200-nm tall nano-wire arrays with 50-nm spacing made of strongly absorptive materials such as titanium dioxide or platinum generate a giant polarizing effect in the deep ultraviolet (DUV) wavelength band. The polarizing effect results from anisotropic absorption created by the nano-wire structure. Different from highly conductive metallic nano-wire polarizers resulting from anisotropic conduction, the absorptive nano-wire polarizers create a new category of polarizing devices that can handle extremely high temperature and high-intensity ultraviolet exposure. The innovative DUV polarizers make many important applications possible.