An idea for thin subwavelength cavity resonators using metamaterials with negative permittivity and permeability

• Published in: IEEE antennas and wireless propagation letters Vol. 1; pp. 10 - 13
• Main Author: Engheta, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 2002; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Cavity resonators; Dielectric constant; Dielectric materials; Dielectrics; Dispersion; Dispersions; Electromagnetic refraction; Filling; Frequency; Metamaterials; Permeability; Permittivity; Slabs
• ISSN: 1536-1225; 1548-5757
• DOI: 10.1109/LAWP.2002.802576

We present and analyze theoretically some ideas for thin one-dimensional (1D) cavity resonators in which a combination of a conventional dielectric material and a metamaterial possessing negative permittivity and permeability has been inserted. It is shown that a slab of metamaterial with negative permittivity and permeability can act as a phase compensator/conjugator and, thus, by combining such a slab with another slab made of a conventional dielectric material, one can, in principle, have a 1D cavity resonator whose dispersion relation may not depend on the sum of thicknesses of the interior materials filling this cavity, but instead it depends on the ratio of these thicknesses. In other words, one can, in principle, conceptualize a 1D cavity resonator with the total thickness far less than the conventional /spl lambda//2. Mathematical steps and physical intuitions relevant to this problem are presented.