Add drop multiplexers for terahertz communications using two-wire waveguide-based plasmonic circuits.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35835741.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-31590-z and PMC identifier 9283530.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Terahertz (THz) band is considered to be the next frontier in wireless communications. The emerging THz multiplexing techniques are expected to dramatically increase the information capacity of THz communications far beyond a single channel limit. In this work, we explore the THz frequency-division multiplexing modality enabled by an add-drop multiplexer (ADM) design. Based on modular two-wire plasmonic waveguides fabricated using additive manufacturing and metallization techniques, we demonstrate four-port THz ADMs containing grating-loaded side couplers for operation at ~140 GHz carrier frequency. Particular attention is paid to the design of plasmonic waveguide Bragg gratings and directional couplers capable of splitting broadband THz light into spectral and spatial domains. Finally, we demonstrate multi/demultiplexing of THz signals with bit rates up to 6 Gbps using the developed ADMs. We believe that the proposed plasmonic circuits hold strong potential to provide robust integrated solutions for analog signal processing in the upcoming THz communications.