3D Printing Lens of Ceramic Powder Mixed with Polymer in the Terahertz Regime
WEI Y. 1, PENG H. 1, CHENG C. 1, YANG C. 1
1 National Taiwan Normal University , Taipei, Taiwan
The technology in the terahertz (THz) range has gradually been paid attention to in the past few years. In order to effectively improve the characteristics in the THz range, the research and development of related components have become very important. The advantages of low loss and high refractive index are very important considerations for THz lenses, and studies have shown that ceramic materials have low loss and high refractive index characteristics in the THz band, and if they are combined with polymers after the material is mixed, it can effectively improve the mechanical strength of the original material. Therefore, we mixed the common polymer ABS with different ceramic materials, such as Al2O3, SiO2, ZrSiO4, and quartz powder, and heated the ceramic powder to 1100°C respectively, and analyzed of optical properties of ABS mixed with ceramic powder before and after heating at THz frequency. The measurement results show that SiO2 calcine will undergo a phase transition at 1100°C, and its optical coefficient will also change accordingly. After ABS is mixed with ceramic materials, the refractive index will increase in the THz band; when Al2O3, quartz and heat treatment are mixed with Al2O3, quartz, and SiO2, not only the refractive index will increase but also the absorption coefficient will decrease. Based on the comprehensive results, the choice of Al2O3 heated to 1100 ? mixed with ABS can increase more refractive index and reduce more absorption coefficient at the same time. The raw material of photocurable resin is ABS, in order to print samples, we will use various weight percentages of Al2O3 and ZrSiO4 to mix with the light-curing resin to analyze its optical properties. The Al2O3 mixed light-curable resin is relatively viscous after being mixed with the light-curable resin. If the mixing ratio is increased, the viscosity will be too high to flow, resulting in the inability to print. Therefore, the final weight percentage is 30 wt%. For the same reason, when the mixing ratio of ZrSiO4 powder is increased, it cannot be cured even if the exposure time is prolonged, so the final choice is to mix 30 wt% ZrSiO4 powder. Compared with the common 3D printing materials on the market, the absorption coefficient is successfully reduced and the refractive index is increased to reduce the thickness of the sample. According to the lensmaker's formula, we designed a plano-convex lens with a radius of 5 cm and a focal length of 5 cm. Using the produced plano-convex lens, the focusing effect was indeed achieved, and the focal length error was within 2 %. It is expected to develop advantageous materials in other THz bands through this method, and it is also conducive to the development of systems applied in the THz band in the future.