Novel Planar Metamaterial with a Negative Refractive Index

A new planar metamaterial (MTM) with simultaneous negative values of permittivity (E) and permeability (mu) is proposed. Our MTM is composed of two identical copper patterns etched on both sides of dielectric laminate, which is very thin and easy to fabricate. Unlike conventional MTMs, the proposed structure shows a negative refractive index (NRI) behavior with respect to a normally incident wave. To explain the underlying principle of the NRI characteristics, an equivalent resonant circuit model based on surface current density distribution is investigated An eigenmode analysis and a three-dimensional wave simulation for the stacked MTM prism are also performed to verify the existence of negative refraction. The experimental results from the transmission and reflection measurement ensure the validity of our design approach and show good agreement with the theoretically predicted effective medium parameters.