Terahertz Channel Transmission in Dielectric Waveguide Near PCB Substrate

Abstract

The growing demand for high-capacity, low-loss short-reach links in highly integrated electronic systems makes it necessary to understand how terahertz (THz) dielectric waveguides behave in realistic PCB-level packaging environments. In this article, we investigate the channel transmission of a 3D-printed polypropylene dielectric waveguide placed near representative PCB substrates. Continuous-wave THz measurements are carried out for bare, fully copper-clad, and periodic copper-trace PCBs with different waveguide-PCB separations, while terahertz time-domain spectroscopy is used to characterize the dielectric properties of the substrate materials. In parallel, an equivalent radiation-channel model and simulations are employed to interpret the proximity-induced excess attenuation. Most notably, direct contact with a bare PCB produces severe and frequency-selective excess loss, whereas a waveguide-facing copper layer suppresses substrate-assisted leakage and reduces the excess loss, with the attenuation rapidly decreasing as the clearance increases. These results reveal the dominant near-field coupling mechanisms between dielectric waveguides and nearby PCB structures, and provide practical guidance for packaging-aware THz interconnect design.