Optical anisotropy in laterally aligned W₆Te₆ nanowire bundles

We report optical anisotropy in laterally aligned bundles of metallic W₆Te₆ nanowires, grown on a-plane sapphire substrates by chemical vapor deposition. Mueller-matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry reveals strong directional dependence in absorption (dichroism) and refraction (birefringence) along and across the nanowire axis. These experimental observations are qualitatively supported by first-principles calculations and consideration of depolarization effects. Our findings establish W₆Te₆ as a model system for studying light-matter interactions in anisotropic metallic nanostructures and demonstrate its potential for polarization-sensitive photonic and optoelectronic applications.