Exploring van der Waals materials with high anisotropy: geometrical and optical approaches

The emergence of van der Waals (vdW) materials resulted in the discovery of their high optical, mechanical, and electronic anisotropic properties, immediately enabling countless novel phenomena and applications. Such success inspired an intensive search for the highest possible anisotropic properties among vdW materials. Furthermore, the identification of the most promising among the huge family of vdW materials is a challenging quest requiring innovative approaches. Here, we suggest an easy-to-use method for such a survey based on the crystallographic geometrical perspective of vdW materials followed by their optical characterization. Using our approach, we found As₂S₃ as a highly anisotropic vdW material. It demonstrates high in-plane optical anisotropy that is ~20% larger than for rutile and over two times as large as calcite, high refractive index, and transparency in the visible range, overcoming the century-long record set by rutile. Given these benefits, As₂S₃ opens a pathway towards next-generation nanophotonics as demonstrated by an ultrathin true zero-order quarter-wave plate that combines classical and the Fabry–Pérot optical phase accumulations. Hence, our approach provides an effective and easy-to-use method to find vdW materials with the utmost anisotropic properties.