Large optical birefringence by anisotropic silver nanocomposites

A large optical birefringence of oriented Ag nanoellipsoids embedded in silica was measured using an ellipsometric technique. The two main surface plasmon resonances associated with the axes of the ellipsoid were tuned, allowing us to quantify the light transmission through the samples when placed and rotated between crossed and parallel polarizers. This birefringence can be physically associated with the selective optical absorption of one component of the linear polarization of the incident light with respect to the anisotropic axis of the sample, depending on the wavelength used to perform the measurement.