Deep Reactive Ion Etching based silicon micromachined components at terahertz frequencies for space applications

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is using deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) based silicon micromachining capabilities to develop the critical waveguide components at submillimeter wavelengths that will lead to highly integrated multi-pixel spectrometers, imagers, and radars. In this paper we describe the design and fabrication of silicon micromachined critical waveguide components operating in the 325-500 GHz frequency band for space applications. We also address the challenges of testing these devices when interfaced with metal waveguide test fixtures.