Metal mesh filters based on Ti, ITO and Cu thin films for terahertz waves

Abstract

In this study, we have investigated the spectral performance of resonant terahertz (THz) bandpass filters which were produced from thin films with a metal-mesh shape. The aforementioned filters were fabricated from titanium, copper and indium tin oxide thin films on fused silica substrates by UV lithography with an array of cross-shaped apertures. Since the mesh period, cross-arm length and its width specify the spectral characteristics of the filters, we were able to reveal the performance of these filters experimentally using both a THz time domain spectrometer and a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. A commercial electromagnetic simulation software, CST microwave studio, was used to verify the experimental data. The transmission of the filters are in the range 20–55 % at their relevant center frequencies. To our knowledge this study is the first to show that fabricated patterns based on ITO thin films can be used to filter THz radiation.