AN EFFICIENT METHOD TO OBTAIN THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF MULTILAYERED MEDIA IN THE TERAHERTZ RANGE

Presented by MAJ Michael Martin, USMC

Abstract: Structures optimized for high absorption characteristics are desired when designing a device for use in a terahertz (THz) detector. Such structures can have layers of thin metal films, which are known to be highly absorptive, and metamaterials, which are artificially made materials that are capable of near 100 percent absorption at specific frequencies. Accurately predicting the optical properties of these structures is crucial to designing a THz detector for use in real time imaging or spectroscopic applications. As part of an effort supporting the development of a THz detector, this thesis accomplishes two goals: (1) it develops an analytical method based on the Transfer Matrix Method to compute the optical characteristics of multilayered structures that are composed of various materials in the THz region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and (2) it provides an implementation of this method in the form of computer program. The developed method can be generalized for any number of layers composed of homogenous materials or homogenized materials enabling accurate analysis of positive and negative index materials indistinctly. The method is derived and explained, and then validated by comparison with experimental data for thin metal films, and metamaterial data reported in the literature. Preliminary results show good agreement for a wide range of structures, materials and frequencies and indicate that the method has a great potential for design and optimization of sophisticated multilayered structures, for various applications.

Point of Contact:

rharkins@nps.edu

Added:

Jun 28, 2013

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