Investigation of negative index properties of planar metamaterials based on split-ring pairs

A low losses broadband planar negative refractive index metamaterial based on split-ring resonator (SRR) pairs is proposed and investigated experimentally and numerically at microwave frequency range. The transmission spectra of the single-layer SRR pairs were measured, and exhibited left-handed (LH) transmission passband clearly. The metal-dielectric-metal structure exhibits strong magnetic and electric responses simultaneously, and leads to negative permeability and negative permittivity. To further verify the LH properties of planer structure metamaterials, effect media parameters were retrieved, a refraction phenomenon based on a wedge-shaped model and negative phase advance between consecutive numbers of layers were also demonstrated.     

谐振频率可调的环状开口谐振器结构及其效应

理论和实验研究表明，开口谐振环(SRRs)中可以激励磁谐振从而实现负磁导率.通过在SRRs结构中引入与其开口边平行的金属短杆设计并制备了新的磁谐振单元，采用波导法系统研究了短杆对SRRs和左手材料的微波透射特性以及左手效应的影响.实验和数值模拟表明：金属短杆和SRRs开口边形成附加电容，导致SRRs开口电容增大从而引起谐振频率降低.随短杆长度l和短杆与SRRs间距d的增大，SRRs谐振频率也随之减小和增加.短杆的加入不影响SRRs的负磁导率特性，改变短杆与SRRs间距d< 关键词： 开口谐振环 金属短杆 调控 左手材料     

A candidate three-dimensional GHz left-handed metamaterial composed of coplanar magnetic and electric resonators

GHz left-handed metamaterials (LHMs) composed of coplanar magnetic and electric resonators were proposed in this paper. On each of the unit cells, the electric resonator is placed in the center space of the magnetic resonator. By adjusting the geometrical dimensions of the resonators, negative magnetic response of the magnetic resonator and negative electric response of the electric resonator can be tuned to be coexistent at the same frequencies. The effective constitutive parameters were retrieved. The results verified simultaneous negative permeability and permittivity as well as negative index of the proposed LHMs. Based on the above work, two- and three-dimensional LHMs that make use of coplanar magnetic and electric resonators were proposed. The work done in this paper is of great reference values in fabricating three-dimensional LHMs.     

Electric and magnetic dipole couplings in split ring resonator metamaterials

In this paper, the electric and the magnetic dipole couplings between the outer and the inner rings of a single split ring resonator (SRR) are investigated. We numerically demonstrate that the magnetic resonance frequency can be substantially modified by changing the couplings of the electric and magnetic dipoles, and give a theoretical expression of the magnetic resonance frequency. The results in this work are expected to be conducive to a deeper understanding of the SRR and other similar metamaterials, and provide new guidance for complex metamaterials design with a tailored electromagnetic response.     

垂直入射条件下金属环的谐振特性

本文研究垂直入射条件下水平极化和垂直极化时金属开口谐振环(split ring resonator, SRR)的电磁响应行为. 通过分析这两种情况下的透射系数、介电常数和磁导率, 发现垂直极化时, SRR可以产生电谐振实现负介电常数, 其频段远高于磁谐振频段; 水平极化时, SRR只能产生磁谐振实现负磁导率, 其频段与水平入射时的SRR的磁谐振频段相对应. 通过仿真对此进行了证明, 并对产生电谐振和磁谐振的原因进行了分析.     

Numerical Study of Low-Loss Cross Left-Handed Metamaterials at Visible Frequency

We present a numerical study of left-handed metamaterials （LHMs） composed of double cross pairs at visible frequency. The S-parameter retrieval method is adopted to confirm the negative refractive characteristic of this design. Compared with fishnet LHMs~ the proposed cross LHMs have a much lower loss, which will greatly facilitate practical applications. It is also found that, with the same size of resonant cells, the cross LHMs have a higher frequency than fishnet LHMs, which is explained using a simple effective LC circuit model.     

Identifying magnetic response of split-ring resonators at microwave frequencies

In this study we provide experimental methods to identify the magnetic resonance of split ring resonantors (SRR) at the microwave frequency regime. Transmission measurements were performed on both single SRR unit cell and periodic arrays of SRRs. The magnetic response of the SRR structure was demonstrated by comparing the transmission spectra of SRRs with closed ring resonators (CRR). Effects of the changes in the effective dielectric constant of the SRR medium on the band-gaps of SRR are investigated experimentally. SRRs not only exhibit a magnetic resonance band gap but also a band gap due to the electric resonance. Finally, we present the effect of electric coupling to the magnetic resonance of bianisotropic SRRs by utilizing SRRs with different orientations, and incident electromagnetic wave polarizations.     

Experimental observation of true left-handed transmission peaks in metamaterials

We report true left-handed (LH) behavior in a composite metamaterial consisting of a periodically arranged split ring resonator (SRR) and wire structures. We demonstrate the magnetic resonance of the SRR structure by comparing the transmission spectra of SRRs with those of closed SRRs. We have confirmed experimentally that the effective plasma frequency of the LH material composed of SRRs and wires is lower than the plasma frequency of the wires. A well-defined LH transmission band with a peak value of -1.2 dB (-0.3 dB/cm) was obtained. The experimental results agree extremely well with the theoretical calculations.     

Low losses left-handed materials with optimized electric and?magnetic resonance

We propose that the losses in left-handed materials (LHMs) can be significantly affected by changing the coupling relationship between electric and magnetic resonance. A double bowknot shaped structure (DBS) is used to construct the LHMs. And the magnetic resonance of the DBS, which resonated in the case of lower and higher frequencies than the electric resonant dip, is studied in simulation and experiment by tailoring the structural parameters. The case of magnetic resonance located at low electric resonance frequencies band is confirmed to have relatively low losses. Using full wave simulation of prism shaped structure composed of DBS unit cells, we prove the negative refraction behavior in such a frame. This study can serve as a guide for designing other similar metal–dielectric–metal (MDM) in low losses at terahertz or higher frequencies.     

基于电流变液的可调谐负磁导率材料

通过把负磁导率材料SRR阵列置于高性能电流变液中,研究了电极加载方式、电流变液浓度、电流变液类型以及电场强度等因素对浸入电流变液中的SRR阵列谐振频率的影响. 实验表明,电极加载方式对SRR阵列的磁响应有重要的影响;在容器盒中充满电流变液之后SRR阵列的谐振频率往低频发生了移动,并且可以通过改变外加电场强度来调节,最大的调节范围为130MHz. 数值计算结果表明SRR阵列的有效磁导率在谐振频率附近为负值,并且有效磁导率为负的频率范围也可以通过改变外加电场强度来调节. 关键词： 负磁导率材料 谐振频率 电流变液     

超材料微波磁导率色散行为的电可调控性研究

研究在开口金属谐振环(SRR)结构嵌入一个电容二极管后,通过电压调控二极管的电容使得SRR结构的等效电容值发生改变,能实现对SRR的谐振频率和等效磁导率的调控,从而提出了一种智能的微波磁性超材料结构.采用时域差分有限元法(Finite-Difference Time-Domain)和恢复算法模拟了变容二极管的工作电压变化下,SRR结构谐振频率和磁导率的变化规律.研究结果表明工作电压增大使变容二极管的电容值减小时,将导致SRR结构的谐振频率向低频段移动,其磁导率的共振频率也将向低频移动.最后指出了SRR结构与常规磁性材料(如铁氧体)磁导率色散行为的不同之处. 关键词： 超材料 微波磁导率     

A metamaterial with multi-band left handed characteristic

A novel left handed (LH) metamaterial (LHM) with multi-band (MB) LH behavior is numerically and experimentally studied based on three split ring resonator pairs (SRRPs). The SRRPs are patterned on both sides of a single dielectric slab, featuring three magnetic resonances and two electric resonances. By cautiously designing the dimensions of each SRRP, the magnetic resonances and electric resonances can be individually controlled, and the resulting negative permeability and negative permittivity can be overlapped to engineer a MB LHM. The multiresonant mechanism has been studied from field distribution analysis and circuit model analysis. For demonstration, a prototype example was fabricated and measured. Good agreement between simulation and measurement is observed. Measurement results indicate two bands of negative refractive index (NRI) in 7.41–7.74 GHz and 9.8–10.4 GHz. The suggested novel LHM opens an alternative to prepare the cloaks, absorbers, antennas, and frequency selective surface (FSS) suitable for multifrequencies.     

Dual-band left-handed metamaterials fabricated by using tree-shaped fractal

<正>A method of fabricating dual-band left-handed metematerials(LHMs) is investigated numerically and experimentally by single-sided tree-like fractals.The resulting structure features multiband magnetic resonances and two electric resonances.By appropriately adjusting the dimensions,two left-handed(LH) bands with simultaneous negative permittivity and permeability are engineered and are validated by full-wave eigenmode analysis and measurement as well in the microwave frequency range.To study the multi-resonant mechanism in depth,the LHM is analysed from three different perspectives of field distribution analysis,circuit model analysis,and geometrical parameters evaluation.The derived formulae are consistent with all simulated results and resulting electromagnetic phenomena,indicating the effectiveness of the established theory.The method provides an alternative to the design of multi-band LHM and has the advantage of not requiring two individual resonant particles and electrically continuous wires,which in turn facilitates planar design and considerably simplifies the fabrication.     

一维负磁导率材料中的缺陷效应

理论和实验已经表明，金属开口谐振环（split ring resonators,简称SRR）可以实现材料的有效磁导率μeff在某一频率范围内为负.采用波导法实验研究了不同几何尺寸的六边形SRR在X波段微波作用下的近邻相互作用.实验发现，相同尺寸的六边形SRR周期性排列而成的一维负磁导率材料存在一个谐振频率；当缺陷谐振环引入一维负磁导率材料时，主谐振频率和缺陷环谐振频率同时发生移动；主谐振频率和缺陷环谐振频率的移动量随缺陷与双环谐振频率之差的增加而减小，当缺陷环谐振频率与双环谐振频率接近时，环间的相互作用增强，频率的移动量增大. 关键词： 负磁导率 缺陷效应 开口谐振环     

Dual band enhanced transmission through a subwavelength aperture based on two split-ring-resonators

Enhanced transmission through a subwavelength aperture is observed at two frequency bands with employment of two split-ring-resonators (SRR) of different sizes. Each of the SRR is excited to produce resonance and the electric field energy localized in its gap and split region can be coupled into a small hole with a radius of 2.3 mm around the respective resonance frequency. The simulation results show that the energy through the small hole is increased at 5.94 GHz (r/λ ₁=0.045) and 7.03 GHz (r/λ ₂=0.054), where 1042-fold and 88-fold enhancements are obtained, respectively, in comparison with the case of a single isolated hole. Moreover, it is found that placing two identical SRR structures in front of the hole can realize higher enhanced transmission with respect to the case of only one SRR utilized. The electric field coupling-enhancement mechanism is well described by studying the electric field distribution.     

Tunable dual-band ferrite-based metamaterials with dual negative refractions

We report on three types of tunable dual-band metamaterial with dual negative refraction in this paper. The three types of metamaterial are composed of ferrite slabs and three different metallic resonators, including split-ring resonators (SRR), Ω-like resonators, and short wire pairs. The ferrite slabs under an applied magnetic bias provide one magnetic resonance frequency band and the three metallic resonators provide another magnetic resonance frequency band, respectively. The continuous wires within the metamaterials provide the negative permittivity in a wide frequency band covering the two magnetic resonance bands. We give the design, analysis and numerical demonstrations of three such types of metamaterial in detail. The effective electromagnetic parameters obtained from the simulated S-parameters indicate that the three types of metamaterial indeed exhibit two negative refraction passbands and the two passbands can also be shifted by changing the magnetic bias. Our results open the way to fabricate tunable dual-band metamaterial cloaks, absorbers, and antennas.     

A tunable hybrid graphene-metal metamaterial absorber for sensing in the THz regime

In this paper, a graphene-based metamaterial absorber is proposed and investigated numerically, in which the interaction between a split ring resonator (SRR) and graphene results in a high-Q absorption. To make a better understanding of the resonance mechanism, the electric and the magnetic fields, and the surface currents at the resonance frequency are investigated. In order to ease the analysis of the structure, an equivalent circuit model is introduced using the transmission line theory, and the accuracy of the proposed model is verified by the full-wave simulation. Finally, different aspects of the designed metamaterial are discussed as a potential label-free sensor for chemical and biomedical sensing. It is shown that by using this structure, a sensor with a sensitivity of 597 GHz/RIU can be achieved.     

Transmission properties of terahertz pulses through subwavelength double split-ring resonators

We present a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy study of the transmission properties of planar composite media made from subwavelength double split-ring resonators (SRRs). The measured amplitude transmission spectra reveal a resonance near 0.5 THz, the central frequency of most ultrafast terahertz systems, for one SRR orientation in normal-incidence geometry. This resonance is attributed to the effect of electric excitation of magnetic resonance of the SRR arrays. In addition, the influences of background substrate, lattice constant, and the shapes of the SRRs on the terahertz resonance are experimentally investigated and agree well with the results of recent numerical studies.     

基于左手材料的高增益双频带微带天线

左手材料具有平板透镜聚焦效应,突破电磁波的衍射极限实现倏逝波的放大,其覆盖于微带天线上方,可以提高天线增益。设计了一种应用于UHF和WLAN的双频微带天线,通过在接地板上刻蚀"己"字形弯折缝隙的方法实现双频谐振。为了改善微带天线低频段的增益,设计了一种新型的哑铃型结构双频段左手材料,将其作为微带天线的覆层。测试结果表明,覆层左手材料微带天线的低频段和高频段的峰值增益分别为2.1dBi和7.4dBi。     

左手材料的反射特性与负折射率行为

利用平板波导法研究了不同入射角度下周期排列开口谐振环负磁导率材料、周期排列金属杆负介电常数材料以及左手材料微波反射特性，并利用劈尖法研究了左手材料的负折射特性.实验结果表明：负磁导率材料反射率曲线形成反射峰，其对应的反射峰频率与材料的谐振频率一致；负介电常数材料反射率接近0dB；左手材料出现单个反射较小的反射峰，其峰值反射率随入射角度的增大而变大，即反射能力增强，且反射峰与透射峰有相对频移.劈尖法测量还表明，左手材料在9800MHz频率附近出现负折射现象，其折射率n为-0.796. 关键词： 左手材料 反射 负折射率