Structuring a terahertz beam by using a 3D-printed n-faced pyramid lens

Liquid crystal lens with a shiftable optical axis

A liquid crystal (LC) lens with a laterally shiftable optical axis is proposed and demonstrated. The optical axis of the lens can be driven to shift within the lens aperture without compromising its optical properties. The lens is constructed by two glass substrates with identical interdigitated comb-type finger electrodes on the inner surfaces, and they are oriented at 90° with respect to each other. The distribution of voltage difference between two substrates is determined by eight driving voltages, and is controlled within the linear response region of LC materials, thereby generating a parabolic phase profile. In experiments, an LC lens with an LC layer of 50 µm and an aperture of 2 mm × 2 mm is prepared. The interference fringes and focused spots are recorded and analyzed. As a result, the optical axis can be driven to shift precisely in the lens aperture, and the lens maintains its focusing ability. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analysis, and good performance of the LC lens is demonstrated.

20 dB improvement utilizing custom-designed 3D-printed terahertz horn coupler

Terahertz band is envisaged to provide substantially higher capacity and much lower latency for wireless communications in contrast to microwave frequencies. Moving to higher frequencies comes with its own unique challenges to be addressed, such as poor coupling efficiency from free space into and out of planar air-core waveguides. Here, we propose a framework for rapid design and low-cost fabrication of terahertz horn couplers. The horn couplers are first designed by maximizing the field overlap integral on apex and aperture interfaces, then fabricated exploiting 3D printing technique, and finally sputtered with a thin layer of gold. A 28~μm standard deviation of the surface roughness height of the 3D printed horn couplers is calculated. Experimental demonstrations show that the proposed horn coupler improves the transmittance of a hybrid photonic crystal waveguide by 20 dB in comparison with the previous pinhole-based coupling configuration. This work provides a fast, convenient and economical approach for design and fabrication of customized couplers for any waveguide size, with a cost of only 5% of commercially available counterparts, and could be integrated in 3D-printed terahertz devices during fabrication.