3D-Printed Terahertz Topological Waveguides

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a cost-effective, 3D-printed topological terahertz waveguide platform that offers improved bandwidth and robustness for integrated terahertz communication systems, enabling reliable propagation around defects.

Contribution

It introduces a novel 3D-printed, gold-sputtered topological waveguide design with a larger bandgap and demonstrates robust terahertz propagation on-chip.

Findings

Achieved a ~12.5% topological bandgap, larger than previous silicon-based waveguides.

Demonstrated robust THz transmission around defects and through delay lines.

Fabrication is simple and cost-effective using 3D-printing and gold-sputtering.

Abstract

Compact and robust waveguide chips are crucial for new integrated terahertz applications, such as high-speed interconnections between processors and broadband short-range wireless communications. Progress on topological photonic crystals shows potential to improve integrated terahertz systems that suffer from high losses around sharp bends. Robust terahertz topological transport through sharp bends on a silicon chip has been recently reported over a relatively narrow bandwidth. Here, we report the experimental demonstration of topological terahertz planar air-channel metallic waveguides which can be integrated into an on-chip interconnect. Our platform can be fabricated by a simple, cost-effective technique combining 3D-printing and gold-sputtering. The relative size of the measured topological bandgap is ~12.5%, which entails significant improvement over all-silicon terahertz topological waveguides (~7.8%). We further demonstrate robust THz propagation around defects and delay lines. Our work provides a promising path towards compact integrated terahertz devices as a next frontier for terahertz wireless communications.