Toward a Novel Method of X‐Ray Polarimetry with Aligned Gold Nanorods

ABSTRACT There has been much effort to develop sensitive high‐energy (X and ‐ray) polarization detectors recently, with potential applications for a wide variety of fields such as cosmology, particle physics, astrophysics, medical science, material science, and high‐energy imaging. However, current technology is constrained both in the energy range and availability due to size, costs, and production difficulties. In this work, we propose a novel mechanism for detecting X‐ray polarization that could mitigate these issues. We showed that, when exposed to polarized X‐rays, aligned gold nanorods lead to an anisotropic response, which can be explored in the reconstruction of the polarization of the incident X‐rays. The differences in the scattered X‐ray directions can be used in the development of a novel detector. These would be on a much smaller scale, more cost‐effective, and much easier to manufacture compared to current and proposed options.