All-silicon terahertz components towards efficient integrated systems

Abstract

Efficient integrated systems can be considered as a next milestone for practical applications of terahertz technology. Various types of integrated platforms have been directly scaled from either the microwave or optical domain, with benefits and drawbacks. Here, we discuss a concept of all-silicon components based on our recently proposed effective-medium-clad dielectric waveguides. The concept prioritizes bandwidth and efficiency, much needed in the terahertz domain. Auxiliary factors include cost and structural simplicity, which are also accounted for in this context. We demonstrate two generic components, namely filters and polarization splitters, that are fundamental to integrated systems.