3D-Printed Metallic Helix Antennas for Orientation Insensitive Polarization-division Multiplexing at Terahertz Frequencies

The improvements in 3D-printing increasingly enable their use for Terahertz components. Here we present helical antennas integrated with WR3 rectangular waveguides produced by a 3D metal printer. The constrains in resolution forces the design to deviate from the ideal dimensions for gain, but the flexibility of the production technique allows for the integration of reflector dishes directly on the waveguide, which mitigates these effects. Despite the deviation from traditional helical antenna design rules, the circular polarization is maintained. Hence, this fabrication method delivers orientation insensitive antennas for polarization-division multiplexing.