Louis Kosnosky with Jie Shan

Multilayered Polymeric Materials for Terahertz Applications

Advances in technology have spurred an increased interest in the terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic spectrum, with applications in wireless communication, spectroscopy, imaging, and high-speed device characterization.  Manipulating THz radiation has been investigated with semiconductor or other crystalline components.  A limited number of studies with polymeric materials shows their viability as an alternative to the commonly-used inorganic materials (semiconductors et cetera).  Polymers offer advantages in their low cost and ease of fabrication.  Their main drawback in application is their low and small range of refractive index (RI), or equivalently, dielectric permittivity.  In almost all component designs, a large difference in RI between layers is required for adequate performance.  Nanostructured dopants offer a potential solution to this problem.  Materials with high RIs can be added to the polymers (in low volume fractions) to increase their dielectric permittivity.  Multilayered polymeric optical components for the THz region such as reflectors/filters and phase retarders will be designed and characterized.  Designs will incorporate films, gratings, and nanostructured additives.