Probing crystal axis orientation of birefringent materials via polarized microspectroscopy and anisotropic optical modeling

Schwarz J, Bauer J, Ghazal R, Schrotz AM, Rommel M, Hutzler A (2026)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

JPhys Photonics Institute of Physics (IOP)

Book Volume: 8

Pages Range: 015029

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1088/2515-7647/ae2e68

Open Access Link: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7647/ae2e68

Abstract

Due to the intriguing properties of van der Waals materials with in-plane birefringence, the field of low-dimensional polarization dependent devices emerged with manifold applications in optics and (opto-)electronics. For such devices, knowledge about their in-plane crystallographic orientation is essential. We report a fast and non-destructive method for probing the crystal alignment of van der Waals materials with lateral dimensions on the microscale by linearly polarized reflectance microspectroscopy. Based on a standard microscope setup combined with a spectrometer and a polarizer we demonstrate the feasibility for magnifying optics with high numerical aperture. Unlike alternative methods, our approach does not require measuring a sinusoidal signal over a full 360◦ range. Instead, we significantly reduce the experimental effort by evaluating the individual polarized reflectance spectra within a 4×4-transfer matrix method framework. The applicability is demonstrated for the biaxial materials MoO3, ReS2, and black phosphorus with varying sample thicknesses. We determine the orientation of their crystal axes within a 5◦ error margin, whereby the reflectance spectra only need to be obtained at 4 different polarization directions.

Authors with CRIS profile

Julian Schwarz Lehrstuhl für Elektronische Bauelemente Albert-Marcel Schrotz Lehrstuhl für Intelligente Technische Elektronik und Systeme Andreas Hutzler

Related research project(s)

Physikalische Modellierung mikrospektroskopischer Messungen zur Charakterisierung von optischen Schichtsystemen May 1, 2021 - May 1, 2024

Involved external institutions

Fraunhofer-Institut für Integrierte Systeme und Bauelementetechnologie (IISB) DE Germany (DE) Helmholtz-Institut Erlangen-Nürnberg für Erneuerbare Energien (HI-ERN) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Schwarz, J., Bauer, J., Ghazal, R., Schrotz, A.-M., Rommel, M., & Hutzler, A. (2026). Probing crystal axis orientation of birefringent materials via polarized microspectroscopy and anisotropic optical modeling. JPhys Photonics, 8(1), 015029. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7647/ae2e68

MLA:

Schwarz, Julian, et al. "Probing crystal axis orientation of birefringent materials via polarized microspectroscopy and anisotropic optical modeling." JPhys Photonics 8.1 (2026): 015029.

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