Dichroic Dipole Antenna Membranes from Aligned Linear BOPHY Dyes

Linear dyes are molecular mimics of dipole antennas that receive UV-vis light. In this work the assembly of linear dyes via the Langmuir technique to achieve uniform dye alignment for optically anisotropic molecular dipole antenna arrays is presented. The molecular orientations in these arrays are quantified from Langmuir isotherms, topography data, and from polarization- and angle-dependent UV-vis transmission spectra. It is achieved the smallest angles by which the transition dipole moment orientation deviates from vertical alignment (16 degrees-30 degrees) in the antenna arrays that have been reported in literature so far. The resulting maximum absorption contrast between grazing and vertical incidence amounts to 75%. This high optical anisotropy enables application as anisotropic receiver arrays in optical communication, as optical layers for privacy applications, or other applications building on dichroic dye layers.