Asymmetric Silicon Dimers Made by Single-Shot Laser-Induced Transfer Demultiplex Light of Different Wavelengths

Nanofabrication technologies significantly influence the development of modern optical science. One of such technologies is laser-induced transfer, which allows the creation of single Mie-resonant spherical particles on a wide range of substrates. This study shows that this method can provide asymmetric dimers at the output: a single femtosecond pulse being focused on a silicon-on-insulator wafer results in appearing two nearly spherical particles of different sizes. The resulting dimers are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, elastic light scattering and Raman spectroscopy to gain insight into their structural properties. Back focal plane imaging and variable-color evanescent-wave illumination are then employed to measure the light scattering patterns from isolated dimers. Due to the interference of the excited resonances, the observed patterns are strongly asymmetric in a range of visible wavelengths, which is consistent with theoretical predictions. The results demonstrate the potential of asymmetric silicon dimers made by single-shot laser-induced transfer for color routing at visible light. The laser-induced transfer, when applied to silicon-on-insulator wafers, is shown to create pairs of silicon particles of different size. The dimers are characterized, their structural features and light scattering patterns are revealed. The observed scattering pattern asymmetry in visible wavelengths aligns with theoretical expectations, showcasing the potential of these silicon dimers for visible light color routing.image