A terahertz two-wire waveguide with low bending loss

We present experimental and theoretical evidence for low loss terahertz pulse propagation along a two-wire waveguide. We find that the mode pattern at the end of the waveguide resembles that of a dipole, consistent with the fundamental transverse-electromagnetic mode of the structure. Compared to the weakly guided Sommerfeld wave of a single wire, this structure exhibits much lower bending losses. We also observe that a commercial 300 Omega two-wire TV-antenna cable can be used for guiding frequency components up to similar to 0.2 THz, although they are generally designed to operate only up to about 800 MHz. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3268790]