Using highly uniform and smooth Selenium colloids as low-loss magnetodielectric building blocks of optical metafluids

TL;DR

This paper explores the use of highly uniform selenium colloids as low-loss magnetodielectric building blocks for optical metafluids, demonstrating their potential for directional light scattering and fluidic optical antennas.

Contribution

It is the first systematic analysis of selenium colloids' magnetodielectric resonances for optical metafluid applications, highlighting their uniformity and high refractive index.

Findings

Observed Kerker-type directional light scattering from Se colloids.

Se colloids exhibit high-refractive-index and structural uniformity.

Potential for fluidic low-loss optical antennas via spin-coating and painting.

Abstract

We systematically analyzed magnetodielectric resonances of Se colloids for the first time to exploit the possibility for use as building blocks of all-dielectric optical metafluids. By taking synergistic advantages of Se colloids, including (i) high-refractive-index at optical frequencies, (ii) unprecedented structural uniformity, and (iii) versatile access to copious quantities, the Kerker-type directional light scattering resulting from efficient coupling between strong electric and magnetic resonances were observed directly from Se colloidal suspension. Thus, the use of Se colloid as a generic magnetodielectric building block highlights an opportunity for the fluidic low-loss optical antenna, which can be processed via spin-coating and painting.