Quasi-optical terahertz polarizers enabled by inkjet printing of carbon nanocomposites

Abstract

We report an approach for cost-effective manufacturing of THz quasi-optical polarizers by inkjet printing of polymer-carbon nanowhisker (CNW) dispersions. The electromagnetic interference properties of coatings with fixed CNW/polymer composition and varying thickness are quantified by a frequency domain THz spectroscopy system in the range 570–630 GHz. A shielding effectiveness of ∼40 dB is attained for 70 μm-thick coatings. A prototype THz polarizer printed on Mylar film displayed transmission and absorbance that varied with polarization orientation. The degree of polarization for film thickness of ∼1 μm was 0.35. This performance can be improved by refining grid dimensions, increasing coating thickness and adopting multi-layer polarizer structures.