New Technique to Produce High-Performance THz Filters
A research collaboration between BoydNLOLab and Iridian Spectral Technologies has developed a novel fabrication technique for producing high-performance spectral filters in the terahertz region. The method employs metamaterials and a secret tool — double-sided tape. The image above shows a general schematic of the bilayer-metamaterial (BLMM) bandpass filter.
The team achieved an entire octave-wide bandwidth filter with superior attenuation (40–50 dB) in the stopband region! This is a great leap forward in THz filter technology.
The paper detailing this research is entitled, “Metamaterial-based octave-wide terahertz bandpass filters.” Here is an extract from the Conclusion section of this paper:
We have designed and experimentally demonstrated six bilayer metamaterial (BLMM) devices with THz bandpass filtering properties. These devices feature a flat passband region centered at different frequencies, with a maximum transmittance exceeding 70% and a large spectral bandwidth corresponding to approximately one octave. The transmittance spectrum has a super-Gaussian profile featuring steep roll-offs, while the stopband region offers a strong signal suppression (generally >20 dB) and likely extends much beyond the investigated spectral region of 0.3 to 5.8 THz. Experimental measurements and FDTD simulations are in good agreement.
Stay tuned for some unique applications of these filters in our upcoming projects!
About Iridian Spectral Technologies
Iridian Spectral Technologies is a diversified optical filter manufacturer that is an international leader in filter design and manufacture especially for application in the fields of fiber optic communications, biomedical optical spectroscopy, 3D entertainment, and aerospace. Iridian draws on more than two decades of experience to provide:
- Bandpass filters
- Edge pass filters
- Gain flattening filters
- Notch filters
- Multi-zone filters (MZF)
- Custom filters
- Dichroic filters and beam splitters
- LaseReflect® LRG glasses
- Stray light (black) absorbers
- Etalons
- Linear transmittance filters (LTF)
- Tap couplers
To request more information or a quotation for Iridian products, contact IL Photonics.