Giant optical anisotropy in a quasi-one-dimensional crystal

Optical anisotropy is a fundamental building block for linear and nonlinear optical components such as polarizers, wave plates, and phase-matching elements1–4. In solid homogeneous materials, the strongest optical anisotropy is found in crystals such as calcite and rutile5,6. Attempts to enhance anisotropic light–matter interaction often rely on artificial anisotropic micro/nanostructures (form birefringence)7–11. Here, we demonstrate rationally designed, giant optical anisotropy in single crystals of barium titanium sulfide (BaTiS3). This material shows an unprecedented, broadband birefringence of up to 0.76 in the mid- to long-wave infrared, as well as a large dichroism window with absorption edges at 1.6 μm and 4.5 μm for light with polarization along two crystallographic axes on an easily accessible cleavage plane. The unusually large anisotropy is a result of the quasi-one-dimensional structure, combined with rational selection of the constituent ions to maximize the polarizability difference along different axes.