We investigate the optical properties of new ‘‘superlattice particles’’ that can be made of precisely controlled metal‐insulator layers fabricated by sputtering or evaporation techniques. We found that there are two limits to the reflectivity behavior corresponding to wide and narrow particles. In the narrow‐particle limit, a series of sharply defined absorption peaks at frequencies controlled by the width is observed. In the wide‐particle limit, most of the light incident on the particles will be absorbed. Materials of this type possess desirable infrared absorption characteristics and can be used for new polarization sensitive infrared absorbers and detectors.