Inkjet Printed Wire-Grid Polarizers for the THz Frequency Range*

We have investigated the use of inkjet printing technology for the production of THz range wire-grid polarizers using time-domain terahertz spectroscopy. Such technology affords a cheap and reproducible way of quickly manufacturing THz range metamaterial structures. Thin silver-nanoparticle ink lines were printed using a Dimatix DMP-2831 printer. We investigated the optimal printing geometry of the polarizers by looking at a number of samples with printed wires of varying thickness and spacing. We also investigate the ultimate capabilities of these polarizers by investigating their properties when stacked.