Bulk ReSe2: Record High Refractive Index and Biaxially Anisotropic Material for All-Dielectric Nanophotonics

Abstract

We show that bulk rhenium diselenide, ReSe2, is characterized by a record high value of the refractive index exceeding 5 in the near-infrared frequency range. We use back focal plane reflection spectroscopy to extract the components of the ReSe2 permittivity tensor and reveal its extreme biaxial anisotropy. We also demonstrate the good agreement between the experimental data and the predictions of the density functional theory. The combination of the large refractive index and giant optical anisotropy makes ReSe2 a promising material for all-dielectric nanophotonics in the near-infrared frequency range.