Broadband dielectric permittivity tensor of muscovite for next-generation all van der Waals photonic components

Abstract

We report a comprehensive determination of the broadband dielectric permittivity tensor of van der Waals (vdW) muscovite also referred to as mica, establishing it as a low-index low-loss platform for ultrathin nanophotonics. Resolving its anisotropic vibrational response and extracting accurate tensor components across broadband ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR) spectral region, we show that vdW muscovite exhibits consistently low refractive indices negligible extinction and weak in-plane anisotropy allowing its effective treatment as a uniaxial dielectric in thin-film limits. Leveraging these properties, we design muscovite based vdW heterostructures pairing it MoS2, engineering few-layer distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) and dichroic beam splitters (DBS) with high efficiency robust optical performance in a broad NIR spectral region achieved with sub-micron thicknesses. Our findings spotlight the high significance of low-index extinctionless vdW crystals, positioning muscovite as a highly perspective atomically flat building block for next-generation, broadband, all-vdW nanophotonic components.