Improvement of transmission characteristics of a terahertz step attenuator

This paper presents a method of improving the transmission characteristics of a terahertz step attenuator. The transmittance of the step attenuator was measured using a terahertz time-domain spectrometer (THz-TDS). Flat transmittances at each attenuation step were obtained at frequencies up to 3 THz by combining several 6-μm-thick metalized film attenuators (MFAs). The attenuator had no significant polarization dependence over a wide frequency range. Good short-term and long-term repeatability were also confirmed.