Boron Nitride Thin Films with Anisotropic Optical Properties from Microscale Particle Density Distributions

Unusual optical anisotropy was experimentally observed in hexagonal boron nitride thin films produced from bulk boron nitride via ultrasonication. Both the linear and circular polarisation demonstrated a well-defined single axis of anisotropy over a large sample area. To understand this phenomenon, we employed statistical analysis of optical microscopy images and atomic force microscopy to reveal an ordered particle density distribution at the microscopic level corresponding to the optical axis observed in the polarisation data. The direction of the observed ordering matched the axis of anisotropy. Hence, we attribute the measured optical anisotropy of the thin films to microscopic variations in the particle density distribution.