Experimental observation of true left-handed transmission, negative refraction and negative phase velocity in composite metamaterials

Abstract

We report a true left-handed (LH) behavior in a composite metamaterial consisting of periodically arranged split ring resonator (SRR) and wire structures. The magnetic resonance of the SRR structure is demonstrated by comparing the transmission spectra of SRRs with that of closed SRRs. We 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 left-handed transmission band with a peak value of -1.2 dB (-0.3 dB/cm) is obtained. We also report the negative refraction characteristics of a 2D composite metamaterial (CMM) structure in free space. The experimental results agree extremely well with the theoretical calculations.