Diffuse-light all-solid-state invisibility cloak

  • Author:

    R. Schittny, A. Niemeyer, M. Kadic, T. Bückmann, A. Naber, and M. Wegener

  • Source:

    Opt. Lett. 40, 4202-4205 (2015)

  • Date: 3.09.2015
  • Abstract:

    An ideal invisibility cloak makes arbitrary macroscopic objects within the cloak indistinguishable from its surrounding—for all directions, illumination patterns, polarizations, and colors of visible light. Recently, we have approached such an ideal cloak for the diffusive regime of light propagation using a core–shell geometry and a mixture of water and white wall paint as the surrounding. Here, we present an all-solid-state version based on polydimethylsiloxane doped with titania nanoparticles for the surrounding/shell and on a high-reflectivity microporous ceramic for the core. By virtue of reduced effects of absorption, especially from the core, the cloaking performance and the overall light throughput are improved significantly.