A self-assembled three-dimensional cloak in the visible

An invisibility cloak has been designed, realized and characterized. The cloak hides free-standing sub-wavelength three-dimensional objects at the short wavelength edge of the visible spectrum. By a bottom-up approach the cloak was self-assembled around the object. Such fabrication approach constitutes a further important step towards real world applications of cloaking; leaving the realm of curiosity. The cloak and the way it was fabricated opens an avenue for many spectacular nano-optical applications such as non-disturbing sensors and photo-detectors, highly efficient solar cells, or optical nano-antenna arrays with strongly suppressed cross-talk to mention only a few. Our results rely on the successful combination of concepts from various disciplines, i.e. chemistry, material science, and plasmonics. Consequently, this work will stimulate these fields by unraveling new paths for future research.

Source: Scientific Reports

Although, at a first glance it might look less impressive to hide sub-wavelength objects, the effect has major implications on controlling light-matter interaction and may entail the implementation of various functional devices.