Sub-diffraction imaging in the THz range using wire array metamaterial fibers and stacked layers of inkjet printed wire grids

A wire medium is a device which is capable of transmitting an electric field distribution with subwavelength resolution. Thereby, transfer of an image occurs in principle without spatial distortion and over an arbitrary long distance. We investigate the transport mechanism and imaging capability through a wire medium in the THz regime. Two approaches to realize a wire medium are presented. The first uses stacked layers of inkjet printed wire grids. In the second approach the wire medium is fabricated using fibre drawing methods. In order to investigate the performance of the two devices we placed as images different apertures in front of the wire media and illuminated them with a THz pulse. Then we measured the transmitted field distribution at the backside with THz near-field microscopy and compared the results with simulations.