Adiabatic compression of terahertz waves using metal flares

We report on the adiabatic free-space coupling of broadband terahertz (THz) radiation through a subwavelength gap using metal flares. Amplitude coupling ratios better than 30% are obtained by optimizing the curvature. This scheme shows a large potential for increasing the sensitivity in THz spectroscopy using high spatial confinement without the need of transmission optics or high precision components. The intrinsic curvature of metal sheets is already sufficient to carry out experiments downsizing the microwave approach. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3430740]