Abstract
Three-dimensional printing based on fused deposition modeling has been shown to provide a cost-efficient and time-saving tool for fabricating a variety of THz optics for a frequency range of <0.2 THz. By using a broadband THz source, with a useful spectral range from 0.08 THz to 1.5 THz, we show that 3D-printed waveplates operate well up to 0.6 THz and have bandwidths similar to commercial products. Specifically, we investigate quarter- and half-waveplates, q-plates, and spiral phaseplates. We demonstrate a route to achieve broadband performance, so that 3D-printed waveplates can also be used with broadband, few-cycle THz pulses, for instance, in nonlinear THz spectroscopy or other THz high field applications.
Highlights
Recent progress in the development of THz systems led to a variety of new applications in communications [1,2,3,4], nondestructive testing [5,6,7,8] or particle accelerators [9,10,11,12], to name a few
By using a broadband THz source, with a useful spectral range from 0.08 THz to 1.5 THz, we show that 3D-printed waveplates operate well up to 0.6 THz and have bandwidths similar to commercial products
We experimentally evaluated 3D-printed QWP, HWP, q-plate, and spiral phaseplates (SPP) for broadband THz applications and compared the results to finite element simulations
Summary
Recent progress in the development of THz systems led to a variety of new applications in communications [1,2,3,4], nondestructive testing [5,6,7,8] or particle accelerators [9,10,11,12], to name a few. For THz beam transport and beam manipulation, these systems need different passive THz optical elements, such as mirrors, lenses, beam splitters, waveguides, or waveplates. Beside conventional fabrication methods, such as cutting, milling, polishing, or etching, these elements can be manufactured using a three-dimensional (3D) printer. Different 3D-printing technologies exist, but the most popular uses fused deposition modeling (FDM). This 3D-printing technique has several advantages: It is time- and cost-efficient, shows good reproducibility, and requires no post-processing. A variety of 3D-printed devices have already been demonstrated, e.g., THz lenses [14,16], gratings [14,16], waveguides [17], axicons [18], phaseplates [19,20], half-waveplates [13] and q-plates [21]. A comprehensive review on different 3D-printed structures for THz applications is found in [15]
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