Metal wires for terahertz wave guiding
Metal wires for terahertz wave guiding
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DOI：
10.1038/nature03040
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发表时间：
2004-11-18
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Mittleman, DM
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wang, KL;Mittleman, DM
近年来，远红外或太赫兹（1 THz = 10（12）Hz）辐射的源和系统受到了广泛的关注，并在传感，成像和光谱学中得到了应用（1-10）。太赫兹辐射弥合了微波和光学领域之间的差距，并在许多领域提供了巨大的科学和技术潜力。然而，在该中间光谱区域中的波导仍然是一个挑战。用于微波辐射的传统金属波导和用于可见光和近红外辐射的介电纤维都不能用于长距离引导太赫兹波，这是由于金属的有限导电性造成的高损耗或介电材料在该光谱范围内的高吸收系数。此外，宽带脉冲在太赫兹制度中的广泛使用施加了低色散的额外约束，这对于与光谱应用的兼容性是必要的。在这里，我们展示了一个简单的波导，即裸金属线，可以用来传输太赫兹脉冲几乎没有色散，低衰减，并具有显着的结构简单。作为这种新的波导结构的一个例子，我们展示了太赫兹脉冲的内窥镜。
Sources and systems for far-infrared or terahertz (1 THz = 10(12) Hz) radiation have received extensive attention in recent years, with applications in sensing, imaging and spectroscopy(1-10). Terahertz radiation bridges the gap between the microwave and optical regimes, and offers significant scientific and technological potential in many fields. However, waveguiding in this intermediate spectral region still remains a challenge. Neither conventional metal waveguides for microwave radiation, nor dielectric fibres for visible and near-infrared radiation can be used to guide terahertz waves over a long distance, owing to the high loss from the finite conductivity of metals or the high absorption coefficient of dielectric materials in this spectral range. Furthermore, the extensive use of broadband pulses in the terahertz regime imposes an additional constraint of low dispersion, which is necessary for compatibility with spectroscopic applications. Here we show how a simple waveguide, namely a bare metal wire, can be used to transport terahertz pulses with virtually no dispersion, low attenuation, and with remarkable structural simplicity. As an example of this new waveguiding structure, we demonstrate an endoscope for terahertz pulses.