THz Bragg structures fabricated with additive manufacturing

Abstract

The advancement of THz science and technology is desirable to facilitate the application of THz technologies in many sectors. Specialized THz photonic elements for these applications require desirable absorption and refractive characteristics in the THz regime. THz photonic elements can be created with additive manufacturing, and specifically 3D printing, forgoing the need for complex fabrication procedures and methodologies. Such THz photonic elements include periodic Bragg structures, which are capable of filtering specific THz frequencies. The authors present a THz Bragg structure fabricated with 3D printing via fused filament fabrication. The THz Bragg structure is made from high-impact polystyrene filament material, which is characterized in this paper with THz time-domain spectroscopy. The geometry and theoretical operation of the THz Bragg structure is investigated with finite-difference time-domain electromagnetic simulations. The THz Bragg structure is evaluated using a THz experimental test bed. There is agreement between the theoretical and the experimental filtering placement within the frequency domain for the THz Bragg structure. The capability of tunable frequency filtering of the presented THz Bragg structure, fabricated with 3D printing, is established and facilitates future advancements in applications of THz science and technology.