Aligned Ag nanowires for radiation manipulation: efficient and broadband infrared polarizing beam splitter

We developed a numerical method to model and design infrared (IR) devices based on aligned metal nanowires on a flat substrate. Homogenization techniques and the transfer matrix method for birefringent-layered materials have been combined to obtain a simple but effective tool for tailoring and optimizing the optical properties of the resulting, strongly anisotropic system. As an example, we show the design of an efficient, broadband, IR polarizing beam splitter. With the emerging of new self-assembling techniques allowing orientation of metallic nanowires in uncomplicated and less-expensive ways, our results show a route to get a class of efficient, low cost and broadband IR polarizers.