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Infinity additive manufacturing of continuous microstructured fiber links for THz communications
Guofu Xu1, Kathirvel Nallappan1, Yang Cao1
1Department of Engineering Physics, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Montréal, H3T 1J4, Canada.
Scientific Reports
|March 17, 2022
Summary
A new infinity 3D printing method creates long, low-loss polypropylene fibers for terahertz (THz) communication. These fibers show high performance, enabling error-free data transmission up to 5.2 Gbps.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Materials Science
- Telecommunications Engineering
Background:
- Terahertz (THz) communication systems require specialized fibers for efficient signal transmission.
- Conventional fiber fabrication methods face limitations in producing continuous, low-loss THz fibers with desired properties.
- Polypropylene is a promising material for THz fiber applications due to its low optical loss in the THz range.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore a novel infinity 3D printing technique for fabricating continuous, low-loss, near-zero dispersion suspended-core polypropylene fibers.
- To optimize process parameters for 3D printing polypropylene with minimal transmission losses at THz frequencies.
- To conduct a comparative analysis of fibers produced using standard and infinity 3D printing methods.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of three microstructured THz fibers using standard and infinity 3D printing techniques.
- Optimization of process parameters for 3D printing low-loss polypropylene.
- Theoretical and experimental characterization of fiber performance, including transmission loss and bit error rate (BER).
- Utilizing THz imaging for modal distribution visualization and excitation condition studies.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated transmission losses of 4.79 dB/m, 17.34 dB/m, and 11.13 dB/m at 128 GHz for the fabricated fibers.
- Achieved bit error rates significantly below the forward error correction limit (10^-3) for fiber lengths up to 2 meters.
- Realized error-free signal transmission at bit rates up to 5.2 Gbps.
- Successfully visualized modal distributions and identified optimal fiber excitation conditions using THz near-field imaging.
Conclusions:
- The novel infinity 3D printing technique enables continuous fabrication of high-performance THz fibers with excellent optical properties.
- The developed polypropylene fibers offer low loss, mechanical robustness, and environmental shielding, making them suitable for fiber-assisted THz communications.
- The fused deposition modeling (FDM)-based infinity printing approach is a key enabling technology for advanced terahertz fiber manufacturing.
