Broadband Chiroptics with Twist-stacked Hyperbolic Conducting Polymer Thin Films

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Materials Science
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Chiral-specific light interaction is crucial but often limited to narrow wavelength ranges.
• Existing methods rely on circular polarization-dependent absorption, restricting broadband applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a scalable and universal concept for achieving broadband circular dichroism (CD).
• To explore the use of strained conducting polymer thin films with in-plane hyperbolic optical behavior for CD applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of strained conducting polymer thin films exhibiting in-plane hyperbolic optical properties.
• Off-axis stacking of multiple polymer thin films to engineer broadband CD.
• Redox-tuning of polymer properties to modulate the hyperbolic behavior and CD.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated broadband CD achieved through the stacking of hyperbolic polymer thin films.
• Showcased that CD magnitude is controllable by hyperbolic bandwidth and stacking geometry.
• Confirmed that CD can be dynamically modulated via redox tuning of the polymer's optical properties.

Conclusions:

• Developed a novel, scalable approach for broadband CD using strained conducting polymers.
• The proposed method offers dynamic tunability, enabling new classes of chiroptical components.
• This work expands the possibilities for chiral light-matter interactions across broad spectral ranges.