Analysis of artificial dielectric lens with metallic rectangular chips for terahertz wave band and physical explanation by periodic model

Optical devices for the terahertz wave band are being developed now and require better designs. This paper analyzes an artificial dielectric lens with metallic rectangular chips for the terahertz wave band. This paper also provides an explanation of the phenomena by use of a periodic model. The periodic analysis model, extracted from the full one by assuming periodicity, confirms the phase delay as the mechanism that produces the focusing effect. Furthermore, the results of the full model confirm that the focusing length is longer with the larger periodicity of rectangular metal chips along the direction transverse to the propagation direction. It also indicates a nonuniform change for the periodicity along the propagation direction and the longer focusing length with narrower rectangular chips. The results of the full model analysis are qualitatively consistent with those of the periodic model one. This implies that the design for an exact size lens is possible through use of the periodic model.     

Parallel plate lens with metal hole array for terahertz wave band

Optical devices for terahertz wave band from 0.1 to 10 THz are rapidly expanding and require better designs. This paper proposes and designs a parallel plate lens with metal hole array for the terahertz wave band. The fast wave effect is due to the parallel plate. For this lens, the parallel plate spacing and hole array dimensions control the phase velocity and the focusing effect. It is not necessary to control the phase through the lens shape, which is flat, itself. The periodic analysis model extracted from the full model confirms the phase control by the metal hole array dimensions. The periodic model can be used for efficient iterative design. The full wave analysis results are also obtained by ANSYS HFSS and the focusing effect is confirmed. Phase control using both the parallel plate and the hole array enhances the focusing effect over the focusing effect controlled only by the metal hole array dimensions.     

Analysis and design of concave lens with metallic slit array for terahertz wave band

This paper presents a three-dimensional concave lens constructed from a metallic slit array. The effective refractive index is estimated to be $0<n<1$ . The actual lens requires spacers in the slits. A lens using a low loss dielectric material for the terahertz frequency band is designed. The fast wave effect is enhanced in order to mitigate the slow wave effect of the dielectric material. Full wave analysis results are obtained by ANSYS HFSS and the focusing effect of the three-dimensional concave lens is confirmed in the terahertz frequency band.     

Focusing effect measurements of artificial dielectric multilayer lens with metal rectangular chips for terahertz wave band

This paper presents the design and fabrication of an artificial multilayer lens comprising ten layers of metal rectangular chips on a cyclo olefin polymer, which has low loss in the terahertz band. Measurements of the focusing effect are also presented. The focusing effect is produced by the rectangular metallic chips which act as an electrical dipole. Simulations are performed using ANSYS HFSS. The lenses are fabricated by laser processing or semiconductor etching. The focusing effect is confirmed by measurement using terahertz near-field microscopy, although some discrepancies are observed between the simulated and measured results.     

亚波长金属聚焦透镜结构参数的优化与分析

提出同时优化亚波长金属透镜结构凹槽宽度和深度,以改善亚波长金属透镜的聚焦特性.基于有限时域差分法,详细研究了凹槽宽度和深度变化对其焦斑的峰值半宽、焦斑强度、归一化聚焦效率以及焦距的影响.通过探讨金属透镜的聚焦规律及其物理机理,给出了金属透镜的优化设计方法,为利用金属透镜实现光波的纳米聚焦及灵活操控提供了理论基础.     

Influence of cutting off position of plasma filament formed by two-color femtosecond laser on terahertz generation

Femtosecond laser filamentation is a method of generating terahertz, which has wide application in terahertz subwavelength resolution imaging. In this paper, the plasma filament formed by femtosecond laser focusing was terminated with an alumina ceramics at different positions and the influence of the cutting off position of the plasma filament on the terahertz wave was studied. The results showed that the terahertz amplitude increases as the position approaches the end of the filament gradually. The stability of amplitude and peak frequency of the terahertz generated by the filament formed by two-color femtosecond laser via a lens with a longer focal length is lower than that through a lens with a shorter focal length, especially the terahertz amplitude at the end of the filament. The study will be helpful for future researchers in the field of THz sub-wavelength imaging utilizing femtosecond laser filament.     

等离子体辅助平板波导的传输特性及应用研究

如何灵活地控制和操纵太赫波是目前研究的热点. 根据电磁波传输理论, 导出了等离子体辅助平板波导的场分布和色散关系表达式, 计算了其传输特性, 并通过全波仿真进行了证实. 结果表明, 等离子体辅助平板波导具有带阻特性, 上边带截止频率等于等离子体频率, 等离子体层越薄, 下边带截止频率越高, 带宽越窄; 阻带内存在两种不同的物理机理, 一种与等离子体和中间媒质的谐振耦合有关, 另一种与表面波的形成有关. 此外, 本文还研究了等离子体频率及碰撞频率对传输特性的影响, 提出了通过改变等离子体频率调谐平板波导滤波器特性的方法. 同时, 采用褶皱金属结构实现了等离子体层, 设计了平板波导传感模型, 通过改变凹槽内的材料的介电常数仿真了其传感特性, 结果表明当材料的介电常数变化0.1%时, 平均截止频率变化1.8 GHz; 通过检测截止频率的变化, 传感器能明显分辨氮、汽油、液态石蜡、甘油和水, 证实了其优良的太赫传感特性. 这项工作对研究太赫波的传输及太赫器件的设计和制备具有指导意义.     

Coupled THz Waveguide Utilizing Surface Plasmon Polaritons on Thin Dielectric Slab Sandwiched between Two Corrugated Metallic Claddings

We present a comprehensive experimental study of terahertz （THz） wave propagation utilizing surface plasmon polaritons （SPPs） on the interfaces of a thin dielectric core layer sandwiched between two corrugated metallic claddings. THz wave impinges on the structured surfaces at normal incidence. Long-lasting oscillation propagation features are observed in the temporal waveform after traveling through the periodic arrays. The enhanced THz transmission can be achieved due to the coupling between incident waves to SPPs at the bottom and top interfaces. The finite element method is used to simulate the field distribution and the transmission mode in the waveguide. The hybrid waveguide with low absorption has great potential applications in THz integrated devices.     

Surface plasmon THz waves on gratings

Because of their long propagation length at a metal surface in the far infrared, surface plasmons make potentially feasible the design and realization of 2D integrated terahertz systems over a metallic substrate. The coupling of a terahertz beam to the surface plasmon wave is very efficiently achieved by diffraction gratings engraved at the metal surface. In this article, we present a review of some recent works we performed in view of characterizing this coupling phenomenon. The analysis of the experimental data supplied by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy allows us to point out the main parameters that govern this diffraction process and the propagation of a surface plasmon over a flat or corrugated metal surface. To cite this article: M. Nazarov et al., C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Diffraction Fields in the Focal Space of Symmetrical Hyperbolic Focusing Lens

The fields refracted by circular symmetric hyperbolic lens illuminated by a linearly polarized plane wave are calculated from the induced surface currents. It is shown that the fields in the axial region approximate to the fields in the aperture of corrugated horn under balanced hybrid condition. The image structures for different focal ratio are compared with the classical Airy pattern, deduced by scalar analysis, of optical focusing systems. The coupling between the lens and a corrugated horn at different position on focal plane are presented. The lens resolution and pix numbers are evaluated.     

内插扩张室声子晶体管路带隙特性研究

声子晶体管路的带隙特性,可以实现管路系统在特定频率下的噪声控制.利用二维模态匹配法推导出单个内插扩张室元胞的传递矩阵,结合Bloch定理,得到声子晶体管路的能带结构计算方法;验证了二维方法在计算能带结构时的准确性.研究发现,内插扩张室声子晶体管路存在布拉格带隙和局域共振带隙.进一步研究了晶格常数以及内插管长度对能带结构的影响,结果表明,晶格常数主要控制布拉格带隙,而内插管长度对局域共振带隙有较大的影响,并研究了两种参数变化下的带隙耦合.研究结果可以为管路降噪设计提供新的思路.     

基于平行金属双柱的太赫兹波二维左手材料

基于产生负介电常数的周期性金属线单元结构,利用平行金属双柱设计了具有双负通带的两种太赫兹波段二维左手材料。应用时域有限积分算法研究了二维左手材料的传输特性,仿真结果表明,在0.76THz附近,平行金属双柱的表面电荷振荡与反向平行电流引发了电磁谐振,出现良好的负折射效应。在0.75～0.78THz之间同时具有负等效磁导率和负等效介电常数,双负通带带宽约为0.03THz。进一步研究了金属双柱间距、长度及基板厚度等结构参数对双负通带带宽的影响。研究结果为太赫兹波段左手材料的设计和研制提供了参考。     

Diffraction of terahertz waves after passing through a Fresnel lens

The spatiotemporal and spectral characteristics of ultrawide-band terahertz pulses after passing through a Fresnel lens are studied by using the scalar diffraction theory. The simulation shows that the transmitted terahertz waveforms compress with increasing propagation distance, and the multi-frequency focusing phenomenon at different focal points is observed. Additionally, the distribution of terahertz fields in a plane perpendicular to the axis is also discussed, and it is found that the diffraction not only induces focusing on-axis but also inhibits focusing at off-axis positions. Therefore, the Fresnel lens may be a useful alternative approach to being a terahertz filter. Moreover, the terahertz pulses travelling as a basic mode of a Gaussian beam are discussed in detail.     

Super-Enhancement Focusing of Teflon Spheres

A Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) sphere can be used as a focusing lens in the applications of imaging and sensing due to its low-loss property in the terahertz band. Herein, field intensities and focusing parameters are analytically calculated for Teflon spheres at different low-loss levels and then a super-enhancement focusing effect in the spheres with particular size parameters was discovered, which can stimulate about 4000 times stronger field intensity than that for incident radiation as well as the great potential of overcoming diffraction limit despite high sensitivity to the magnitude of Teflon loss. A subsequent analysis of scattering amplitudes proves that the strong scattering of a single-order mode in the internal electric or magnetic field is the main factor causing this phenomenon.     

Directional terahertz radiation through groove-assisted hole array

The authors theoretically demonstrate the terahertz beam shaping with metallic subwavelength holes array surrounded by concentric periodic grooves. High transmission and directional radiation can be obtained simultaneously for the resonant excitation of the surface wave in the combined structure. Finite-difference time-domain simulation results shows that the transmission mainly depends on the lattice constant of hole array and the features of incident surface around it, while the far-field angle distribution is dominated by the details of the output surface. This compact beam shaping structure is hoped to serve as a basic device for future terahertz systems.     

A magnetically tunable non-Bragg defect mode in a corrugated waveguide filled with liquid crystals

A magnetically tunable, non-Bragg defect mode (NBDM) was created in the terahertz frequency range by inserting a defect in the middle of a periodically corrugated waveguide filled with liquid crystals (LCs). In the periodic waveguide, non-Bragg gaps beyond the Bragg ones, which appear in the transmission spectra, are created by different transverse mode resonances. The transmission spectra of the waveguide containing a defect showed that a defect mode was present inside the non-Bragg gap. The NBDM has quite different features compared to the Bragg defect mode, which includes more complex, high-order guided wave modes. In our study, we filled the corrugated waveguide with LCs to realize the tunability of the NBDM. The simulated results showed that the NBDM in a corrugated waveguide filled with LCs can be used in filters, sensors, switches, and other terahertz integrated devices.     

A novel noncontacting waveguide backshort for submillimeter wave frequencies

A novel noncontacting waveguide backshort has been developed for millimeter wave and submillimeter wave frequencies. It employs a metallic bar with rectangular or circular holes. The size and spacing of the holes are adjusted to provide a periodic variation of the guide impedance on the correct length scale to give a large reflection of rf power. This design is mechanically rugged and can be readily fabricated for high submillimeter wave frequencies where conventional backshorts are difficult or impossible to fabricate. Model experiments have been performed at 4 GHz – 6 GHz to empirically optimize the design parameters. Values of reflected power greater than 95% over a 30% bandwidth have been achieved. A specific design is presented which has also been successfully scaled to WR-10 band (75 GHz – 110 GHz). A theoretical analysis is compared to the experiments and found to agree well with the measured data.     

Research of electromagnetic field in different length left-handed material slab

Finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method is used to simulate the propagation of electromagnetic wave in left-handed material slab （LHMs） with cold plasma model The effects of optical propagation in the left-handed material compared to convex lens are discussed. The wider the LHMs is, the stronger electric field of focusing image in left-handed material slab is confirmed by the simulation with various slab length. However, the outer image point location would slightly moves to the LHMs side when the length of LHMs is reduced.     

Terahertz artificial dielectric cuboid lens on substrate for super-resolution images

This paper presents an investigation of terajets formation by dielectric periodic structure at terahertz frequencies (0.1–0.2 THz) in effective medium regime (photonic metamaterial). The dispersions of effective permittivity for periodic structures formed by plastics (ABS, black) were analytically obtained for both regimes. The study of the interaction of a plane wave and artificial cubic dielectric on a substrate parallelepiped to form a subwavelength terahertz beams (terajet) was performed. The results of numerical simulation of S-parameters of structure are discussed. The subwavelength beam waist of terajets about 0.39λ–0.41λ were obtained. The quality factor of terajets are discussed. The results may be applied for creation of methods to obtain subwavelength beams in the terahertz frequency range, and devices based on them. These investigations are opening new research lines such as mesoscale focusing devices for different sensing applications.     

Simulation investigation on channel surface plasmon guiding by terahertz wave through subwavelength metal V-groove

The waveguide propagation properties of terahertz wave through subwavelength metallic triangular groove channels have been simulationally investigated. The effects of groove depth, groove angle and dielectric filling materials on propagation property have been shown and discussed. The results show that with increasing of groove depth and angle degree the propagation constant of channel surface plasmon polariton mode decreases. The propagation constant of poor conductive metal is larger than that of good conductive metal, which may result from the fact that the former has larger skin depth. In addition, the confinement of CSPP mode could be improved by increasing the refractive index of dielectric filling materials.