Polarization conversion in bottom-up grown quasi-1D fibrous red phosphorus flakes

Fibrous red phosphorus (RP) has triggered growing attention as an emerging quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) van der Waals crystal recently. Unfortunately, it is difficult to achieve substrate growth of high-quality fibrous RP flakes due to their inherent quasi-1D structure, which impedes their fundamental property exploration and device integration. Herein, we demonstrate a bottom-up approach for the growth of fibrous RP flakes with (001)-preferred orientation via a chemical vapor transport (CVT) reaction in the P/Sn/I-2 system. The formation of fibrous RP flakes can be attributed to the synergistic effect of Sn-mediated P-4 partial pressure and the SnI2 capping layer-directed growth. Moreover, we investigate the optical anisotropy of the as-grown flakes, demonstrating their potential application as micro phase retarders in polarization conversion. Our developed bottom-up approach lays the foundation for studying the anisotropy and device integration of fibrous red phosphorus, opening up possibilities for the two-dimensional growth of quasi-1D van der Waals materials. Fibrous red phosphorus (RP) has recently attracted attention due to its quasi-1D van der Waals structure and anisotropic optical properties. Here, the authors report the bottom-up growth of RP flakes via a chemical vapor transport method and their application as micro phase retarders in polarization conversion.

Automated summary

This study presents a bottom-up approach for the growth of fibrous red phosphorus (RP) flakes with (001)-preferred orientation via a chemical vapor transport method in the P/Sn/I-2 system. The authors investigate the optical anisotropy of the as-grown flakes and demonstrate their potential application as micro phase retarders in polarization conversion.