Abstract
In this paper, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate the inverse polarization effect in three-dimensional (3-D) printed polarizers for the frequency range of 0.5 - 2.7 THz. The polarizers simply consist of 3-D printed strip lines of conductive polylactic acid (CPLA, Proto-Pasta) and do not require a substrate or any further metallic deposition. The experimental and numerical results show that the proposed structure acts as a broadband polarizer between the range of 0.3 THz to 2.7 THz, in which the inverse polarization effect is clearly seen for frequencies above 0.5 THz. In the inverse polarization effect, the transmission of the transverse electric (TE) component exceeds that of the TM component, in contrast to the behavior of a typical wire-grid polarizer. We show how the performance of the polarizers depends on the spacing and thickness of the CPLA structure; extinction ratios higher than 20 dB are achieved. This is the first report using CPLA to fabricate THz polarizers, demonstrating the potential of using conductive polymers to design THz components efficiently and robustly.
Highlights
Terahertz (THz) radiation has attracted the attention in a wide range of fields, including, but not limited to, in vivo biomedical characterisation [1, 2], the automotive industry [3], botanics [4] cultural heritage [5] and materials characterization [6]
In this paper we report, to the best of our knowledge, the first 3D printed polarizers made of conductive PLA with extinction ratios above 20 dB for 0.5 to 1.7 THz
Our experimental results show that below 0.5 THz, the transverse electric (TE) component is attenuated while the transverse magnetic (TM) component is transmitted through the device
Summary
Terahertz (THz) radiation has attracted the attention in a wide range of fields, including, but not limited to, in vivo biomedical characterisation [1, 2], the automotive industry [3], botanics [4] cultural heritage [5] and materials characterization [6]. The materials used for optical components, for example glass, are opaque at terahertz frequencies To address this problem, researchers have turned their attention to 3D printed technology given the low attenuation of some printable plastics in this frequency range [7]. Production of several 3D printed polarizers has been reported recently [14,15,16] Some of these structures printed in plastic are subsequently coated with metallic thin films to improve the performance of the device [14,15]. We report experimental evidence of the inverse polarization effect and show how it depends on the spacing thickness In this phenomenon, the transverse electric (TE) component of the radiation is transmitted and the transverse magnetic (TM) component is reflected, opposite to the behavior of a conventional wire-grid polarizer [17,18,19].
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