Open AccessTerahertz plasmonic waveguides created via 3D printing
Author(s) -
Shashank Pandey,
Barun Gupta,
Ajay Nahata
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.21.024422
Subject(s) - terahertz radiation , materials science , plasmon , surface plasmon polariton , optics , 3d printing , optoelectronics , fabrication , surface plasmon , finite difference time domain method , medicine , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , composite material
We demonstrate that 3D printing, commonly associated with the manufacture of large objects, allows for the fabrication of high quality terahertz (THz) plasmonic structures. Using a commercial 3D printer, we print a variety of structures that include abrupt out-of-plane bends and continuously varying bends. The waveguides are initially printed in a polymer resin and then sputter deposited with ~500 nm of Au. This thickness of Au is sufficient to support low loss propagation of surface plasmon-polaritons with minimal impact from the underlying layer, thereby demonstrating a useful approach for fabricating a broad range of plasmonic structures that incorporate complex geometries. Using THz time-domain spectroscopy, we measure the guided-wave properties of these devices. We find that the propagation properties of the guided-wave modes are similar to those obtained in similar conventional metal-based waveguides, albeit with slightly higher loss. This additional loss is attributed to roughness associated with limitations that currently exist in commercial 3D printers.