Constantin R. Simovski

Simple and Accurate Analytical Model of Planar Grids and High-Impedance Surfaces Comprising Metal Strips or Patches

Simple analytical formulas are introduced for the grid impedance of electrically dense arrays of square patches and for the surface impedance of high-impedance surfaces based on the dense arrays of metal strips or square patches over ground planes. Emphasis is on the oblique-incidence excitation. The approach is based on the known analytical models for strip grids combined with the approximate Babinet principle for planar grids located at a dielectric interface. Analytical expressions for the surface impedance and reflection coefficient resulting from our analysis are thoroughly verified by full-wave simulations and compared with available data in open literature for particular cases. The results can be used in the design of various antennas and microwave or millimeter wave devices which use artificial impedance surfaces and artificial magnetic conductors (reflect-array antennas, tunable phase shifters, etc.), as well as for the derivation of accurate higher-order impedance boundary conditions for artificial (high-) impedance surfaces. As an example, the propagation properties of surface waves along the high-impedance surfaces are studied.

Wire Metamaterials: Physics and Applications

The physics and applications of a broad class of artificial electromagnetic materials composed of lattices of aligned metal rods embedded in a dielectric matrix are reviewed. Such structures are here termed wire metamaterials. They appear in various settings and can operate from microwaves to THz and optical frequencies. An important group of these metamaterials is a wire medium possessing extreme optical anisotropy. The study of wire metamaterials has a long history, however, most of their important and useful properties have been revealed and understood only recently, especially in the THz and optical frequency ranges where the wire media correspond to the lattices of microwires and nanowires, respectively. Another group of wire metamaterials are arrays and lattices of nanorods of noble metals whose unusual properties are driven by plasmonic resonances.

High-impedance surfaces having stable resonance with respect to polarization and incidence angle

The work presented in this paper concerns a theoretical study on frequency selective surfaces (FSS) with application to artificial magnetic conductors or high-impedance surfaces (HIS). Current realizations of HIS are based on a planar FSS at the interface of a metal-backed dielectric slab either including vertical vias or not. A stable resonance was found for the case of series-resonance grids without vias in the slab. The resonance turns out to be unique in theory for all angles of incidence and both polarizations of plane waves illuminating the HIS. It was shown that vias destroy the stabilization effect and introduce a frequency shift. The analytical model was validated by HFSS simulations.

A Thin Electromagnetic Absorber for Wide Incidence Angles and Both Polarizations

A design for planar electromagnetic absorbers is presented. The performance of this absorber is maintained over a wide incidence angles and for both TE and TM polarization. The absorber is composed of a high-impedance surface comprising an array of patches over a grounded lossy dielectric slab perforated with metallic vias (wire medium). The main contribution of the paper is to demonstrate and practically use the presence of an additional resonance when the plasma frequency of the wire medium in the dielectric substrate is close to the original resonance of the high-impedance surface. The presence of the vias between FSS and the ground plane is discussed both for the case of a high-permittivity absorber and for a low permittivity one, through the derivation of simple and efficient analytical expressions, specifically derived for the problem at hand. We show that the presence of the vias influences the oblique incidence TM absorption, and when properly designed, the insertion of the vias into the absorber structure results in a bandwidth enlargement and higher absorption performance.

Analytical antenna model for chiral scatterers: comparison with numerical and experimental data

An analytical model for polarizability dyadics of small chiral conductive particles in free space or those embedded in a lossy material is presented and discussed. Chiral particles are modeled by a wire loop connected to two straight wire elements. The electromagnetic analysis is based on the replacement of the particles by two connected antennas representing the wire and loop portions. Analytical expressions for polarizabilities are given. For electrically small particles, a lumped-element equivalent circuit can be constructed and the polarizabilities can be expressed in terms of equivalent circuit parameters. It is shown that the wire-and-loop antenna model for scatterers satisfies the reciprocity condition and other basic physical requirements. Approximate analytical expressions are compared with numerical simulations and with the experimental data on reflection from single chiral particles, and the results are seen to be in good agreement. The model can be used in analytical modeling of chiral and omega composite materials.

On artificial magnetodielectric loading for improving the impedance bandwidth properties of microstrip antennas

The effect of artificial magnetodielectric substrates on the impedance bandwidth properties of microstrip antennas is discussed. We review the results found in the literature and then focus on practically realizable artificial magnetic media operating in the microwave regime. Next, a realistic dispersive behavior of a practically realizable artificial substrate is embedded into the model. It is shown that frequency dispersion of the substrate plays a very important role in the impedance bandwidth characteristics of the loaded antenna. The impedance bandwidths of reduced size patch antennas loaded with dispersive magnetodielectric substrates and high-permittivity substrates are compared. It is shown that unlike substrates with dispersion-free permeability, practically realizable artificial substrates with dispersive magnetic permeability are not advantageous in antenna miniaturization. This conclusion is experimentally validated.

On electromagnetic characterization and homogenization of nanostructured metamaterials

In this overview paper the trends in the modern literature concerning the characterization of linear electromagnetic properties of nanostructured metamaterials are briefly discussed. Electromagnetic characterization of bulk and surface metamaterials is discussed. The problem of characterization of metamaterials with spatial dispersion effects is addressed. It is shown that for bulk metamaterials formed as orthorhombic dipole lattices experimental electromagnetic characterization (retrieval of material parameters) becomes possible. However, standard schemes of material parameter retrieval contain pitfalls even for this kind of material. To clarify these pitfalls the concept of characteristic material parameters is suggested which is clearer and more restrictive that the concept of effective material parameters. For a special but important class of metamaterials (called Bloch lattices by the author) bulk material parameters are obtained which probably fit the concept of electromagnetic characterization because they satisfy basic physical limitations. Further, the problem of the violation of Maxwell boundary conditions for a macroscopic field at the physical boundary of the metamaterial lattice is discussed. The role of transition layers (perhaps transition sheets) in the characterization of metamaterials is explained. Finally, a relevant numerical example is presented as an illustration of the theory.

Frequency range and explicit expressions for negative permittivity and permeability for an isotropic medium formed by a lattice of perfectly conducting Omega particles

Frequency range and explicit expressions for negative permittivity and permeability for an isotropic medium formed by a lattice of perfectly conducting Omega particles

Subwavelength imaging at infrared frequencies using an array of metallic nanorods

We demonstrate that an array of metallic nanorods enables sub-wavelength (near-field) imaging at infrared frequencies. Using an homogenization approach, it is theoretically proved that under certain conditions the incoming radiation can be transmitted by the array of nanorods over a significant distance with fairly low attenuation. The propagation mechanism does not involve a resonance of material parameters and thus the resolution is not strongly affected by material losses and has wide bandwidth. The sub-wavelength imaging with

Material parameters of metamaterials (a Review)

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