Homogenization of SRR-loaded Metamaterial Waveguide - Current State of the Art

Several different interpretations of counter-intuitive phenomenon of subwavelength backward-wave propagation in SRR-loaded waveguide are available in open literature. Some of those ideas are reviewed and compared in this paper. Special focus is put on the homogenization theory as a validating tool for the equivalence between a SRR-loaded waveguide and a waveguide filled with continuous anisotropic MNG metamaterial. It is shown that spatial averaging of numerically calculated magnetic field across the unit cell of SRR-loaded waveguide yields the distribution that is very similar to the distribution in the continuous MNG material. Obtained numerical and experimental results show that the interpretation of a waveguide filled with SRR-like inclusions as a waveguide filled with a continuous anisotropic MNG metamaterial is correct.