A low-loss terahertz air-core microstructure fiber is demonstrated for terahertz waveguiding. Substantially low attenuation constant less than 0.01 cm −1 has been achieved and the guiding wavelength is found to be tunable by linear scaling the fiber size. The experimental results well agree with the simulation based on the finite-difference frequency-domain method, which interprets the guiding mechanism as the antiresonant reflecting waveguiding. The simulated modal pattern shows that most terahertz field is concentrated inside the central hollow air core and is guided without outside interference, which has high potential for guiding intense terahertz waves with minimized loss.
The feasibility to perform fiber-scanning terahertz imaging utilizing a terahertz subwavelength plastic fiber is investigated. Our study shows that, with a low (<1%) fractional power inside the fiber core, the bending loss of the terahertz subwavelength fiber is acceptable to enable large area scanning without seriously sacrificing the signal-to-noise ratio of the acquired image. With a transmission geometry, this feasibility is demonstrated by direct two-dimensional scanning of the terahertz subwavelength fiber output end to image different biological samples and concealed substances.
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