Design, fabrication, and applications of THz dielectric metamaterials

In this manuscript, a rapid design process flow for multi-layered Terahertz (THz) optical components for Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) telescopes using artificial dielectric metamaterials made up of periodic 2D grid of metal squares embedded in a dielectric material with a fixed interlayer spacing, termed ”capacitive grids”, is discussed. The modeling of such metamaterials using ideal RF transmission line sections to achieve an arbitrary value of refractive index and their fabrication using aluminum embedded in a polyimide dielectric is presented. Finally, the design and HFSS simulations results of a stepped-impedance low-pass quasi-optic metamaterial filter is discussed as an application of such a rapid design methodology in designing complex quasi-optical components with variable refractive indices in the millimeter wave and THz astronomy applications.