CHINESE JOURNAL OF PHYSICS VOL. 47, NO.

4 AUGUST 2009

Spectral Effects Caused by an Anisotropic Dielectric

Substrate in Left-Handed Materials

Hongxin Zhang,1, 2 Tianming Chen,1 Yinghua Lu,1 and Yuewang Huang1

1
School of Electronic Engineering, Beijing University of
Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China
2
State Key Laboratory of Information Security,
Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
(Received August 12, 2008)
In this paper, the electromagnetic (EM) transmission behavior of left-handed materials
(LHMs) with an anisotropic dielectric substrate working at millimeter-wave frequencies is
studied. The designed metamaterials are composed of a periodic array of thin metallic wires,
split-ring resonators, and an anisotropic dielectric substrate. Through a numerical simula-
tion using the finite-difference time-domain method and the CST simulation software, the
simulation results show that varying of the dielectric permittivity along different directions
can result in considerably different effects in controlling the transmission spectrum of EM
waves through the LHMs. In this sense, we could obtain a new method to design LHMs with
the desired EM transmission properties by properly combining the values of the dielectric
permittivities in the three different directions.

PACS numbers: 72.80.Tm, 72.30.+q, 71.70.Gm

I. INTRODUCTION

It is well known that left-handed materials (LHMs) have a negative refraction index
and exhibit many unconventional properties, such as the inverse Doppler effect, inverse
Cerenkov radiation, and the perfect lens effect [1–6]. Pendry, in 1998, demonstrated that a
thin continuous-metallic wire array could have a negative effective permittivity from 0 Hz
up to a low plasma frequency in the GHz range, and consequently could give rise to the first
forbidden band in this same frequency regime [7]. On the other hand, an array of split-ring
resonators (SRRs) can exhibit a negative effective permeability near its magnetic resonance
frequency [8]. By combining the SRRs and a thin wire array together appropriately, Smith
reported the first experimental realization of LHMs in 2000 [9]. Ever since then, LHMs have
become one of the hottest topics of scientific researches, due to their physical realization as
novel metamaterials, and the wide applications of LHMs have been extended to the fields
of antenna design, vehicle coatings to alter the scattering cross section properties of radars,
and lenses [3].
Recently, Zhang et al. [10–13] have done some research work on improving the con-
trollability of the transmission properties of traditional LHMs by inserting heterogeneous
elements, such as inductors and capacitors, into the original LHM structures. In this paper,
we employ another approach of introducing an anisotropic dielectric substrate to control the

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VOL. 47 HONGXIN ZHANG, TIANMING CHEN, et al. 521

transmission properties of the LHMs. A traditional LHM itself is an anisotropic medium,

and Hu [14] and Naoko [15] and others had given its mathematical analysis and implemen-
tation. However, as yet all the LHMs studies are based on the isotropic dielectric substrate
with a wire array and SRR etched on it. We step forward further to present a different
perspective, with the help of an anisotropic dielectric substrate, on endowing LHMs with
impressive spectrum controllability. The rest of this letter is organized as follows: we first
present the difference equations for an anisotropic medium in finite-difference time-domain
(FDTD) simulation; then we compare the numerical simulation results between our FDTD
codes and MAFIA’s CST software. Noting that the results of the two different simulation
approaches are in reasonable agreement, we are confident to utilize the FDTD method
to investigate the corresponding changes in the spectrum of LHMs under varied dielectric
board permittivities along different directions. The variation trends of the EM transmission
properties through the designed LHMs are obtained, and a new approach of controllable
configuring characteristics of EM transmission through LHMs is proposed.

II. FDTD FORMATS IN LHMS WITH ANISOTROPIC SUBSTRATE AND ITS

VALIDATION

We first consider the FDTD equations in LHMs with an anisotropic dielectric sub-
strate, in which the permittivity ε and permeability µ are in the form of tensors, instead
of scalars for isotropic media. Without loss of generality, we discuss the problem in the
principal axis system, in which the permittivity and permeability tensors degenerate into
diagonal matrices, in the form of
   
εx 0 0 µx 0 0
ε = ε0  0 εy 0  µ = µ0  0 µy 0  , (1)
0 0 εz 0 0 µz

According to Maxwell’s equations, we have

∂D
∇×H = + J, (2)
∂t
∂B
∇×E = − , (3)
∂t
D = ε · E, (4)
B = µ · H, (5)
J = σE. (6)

As in our discussion, we only introduce the anisotropic dielectric substrate, and the perme-
ability is considered to be isotropic. Substituting Eq. (3) into Eq. (1) and using the tensor
522 SPECTRAL EFFECTS CAUSED BY . . . VOL. 47

form of the permittivity, we obtain




∂Hz ∂Hy ∂Ex 

− = εx + σEx 

∂y ∂z ∂t




∂Hx ∂Hz ∂Ey

− = εy + σEy (7)
∂z ∂x ∂t 

∂Hy ∂Hx ∂Ez



− = εz + σEz 

∂x ∂y ∂t





Equation (7) is the basic equation, based on which we derive the iteration formulas of Ex,
Ey, and Ez for the anisotropic dielectric board in the FDTD.
In order to verify the reliability of our FDTD simulation program built according to
above equations, the CST Microwave Studio is employed and their respective simulation
results are compared. The specific configurations of the LHMs in our simulations are shown
in Fig. 1.(a) and Fig. 1.(b). Fig. 1.(a) provides a detailed description of the parameters
of the SRR structure, while Fig. 1.(b) presents the structure of the metamaterial, which
is composed of thin metallic wire arrays and SRRs that are periodically embedded on an
anisotropic dielectric substrate. The metallic wires are continuous, and their widths are 0.3
mm. The dielectric substrate in the LHMs are all 1.6 mm thick and have the permittivity
tensor with εx = 2, εy = 4.41, εz = 8. Besides, the anisotropic dielectric substrate is
assumed to extend infinitely in the X-Y plane and there is a sufficiently large amount of
substrate in the Z direction, with an interval of 2.1 mm.
The CST simulation is then followed. In the computation space, an open boundary
is employed along the X direction, while periodic boundary conditions are adopted along
the Y and Zdirections, to simulate an infinite extension of the structure. The configuration
of the LHM in the CST computation space is schematically shown in Fig. 2. We have
calculated the transmission spectrum of the designed LHM with normal incidence plane
waves, in which the electric and magnetic fields are along the Y and Z axis, respectively,
and the wave vector is in the X direction.
The simulated transmission spectrum for a LHM composed of the wire array, SRR
array, and the periodic placed anisotropic dielectric substrate is shown in Fig. 3(a). One
resonance is detected at approximately 4.5 GHz, and a pass band from 7 to 9.8 GHz
is present in the transmission spectrum of the LHM because of the interaction between
the SRR array and the wire array. This phenomenon can be similarly explained by the
experiment conducted by Moss based on an isotropic substrate LHM [12].
On the other hand, we also use the FDTD method to simulate the transmission spec-
trum of the LHMs in Fig. 1. In the FDTD simulations, EM waves propagate along theX
axis, and the electric field is polarized along the Y axis, whereas the magnetic field polar-
ization is parallel to the Z axis. The perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary
condition is considered in the X direction to simulate an open boundary, while periodic
boundary conditions are assumed in the Y and Z directions to simulate an infinite dimen-
sion. The substrates are 2.1 mm away from each other in the Z direction. The dimensions
VOL. 47 HONGXIN ZHANG, TIANMING CHEN, et al. 523

FIG. 1: (a) The unit cell of the SRR array with parameters d = w = t=0.3 mm and l=5.1 mm. (b)
Back and front sides of the board with the wire array and the SRR array. The distance between the
wires is r=3.3 mm and the distance between the SRRs is n=2.1 mm. The width of the anisotropic
substrate in the X direction is 21.6 mm.

FIG. 2: Computation space in CST Microwave Studio.

524 SPECTRAL EFFECTS CAUSED BY . . . VOL. 47

FIG. 3: (a) Simulated transmission spectrum of the LHM with anisotropic substrate with CST; (b)
FDTD simulated transmission spectrum of the LHM with anisotropic substrate.

of the computational grid in the FDTD simulation are ax = ay = az =0.3 mm. Besides,
like Bayindir did in his simulations, we considered the thickness of the wires and SRRs to
be zero and assumed them to be perfect conductors [13]. Meanwhile, the same dimensional
structures of the LHMs are simulated respectively in the CST and the FDTD to carry out
a comparison.
We simulate EM waves propagating through this medium. The simulated transmis-
sion spectrum is shown in Fig. 3. The resonance is exactly located at 4.5 GHz, and there is
also a pass band between 8.2 and 10.3 GHz. When Fig. 3(a) is compared with the numerical
results in Fig. 3(b), the resonance frequency is exactly the same, and there is only a slight
difference in the transmission spectrum around the pass band. We think the difference is
caused by the different computational electromagnetic methods employed in the above two
simulations. The CST Microwave Studio uses a finite integral method and several other
auxiliary algorithms, while our codes are exclusively programmed with the FDTD method.
VOL. 47 HONGXIN ZHANG, TIANMING CHEN, et al. 525

Generally, the two simulation results are in good agreement.

III. CONTROLLABLE SPECTRUM CHARACTERISTICS OF LHMS WITH

ANISOTROPIC DIELECTRIC SUBSTRATE

We investigate the controllability of the LHMs’ transmission properties with the

FDTD numerical simulations. First, we investigate the tuning effects of εx on the LHM’s
transmission prosperities. In our simulations, it is assumed that εy = εz = 4 and εx equals
to 2, 4, and 8, respectively. As can be seen in Fig. 4, the resonance frequency of the LHMs
decreases with the increase of εx , while there is little change for the pass band between
8.2 G and 11 GHz. Also, by introducing larger εx values, the third pass band in the 15 G
∼20 GHz range is shifted to lower frequencies, as well as narrowed down in bandwidth. As
shown in Fig. 5, when εx = 8, the original single-peaked pass band in the frequency range
of 15 G and 20 GHz splits into three discrete narrower pass bands, and this significantly
increases the number of pass bands and provides better spectrum controllability.

FIG. 4: FDTD simulated transmission spectrum of the LHM with different εx values.

The varying value of εy is also conducted for the purpose of discovering similar tuning
effects on the transmission spectrum. Similarly, we fix εx = εz =4 and let εy equal to
2, 4, and 8, respectively. Figure 6 shows the simulation results and the changes of the
transmission spectrum: as εy increases, the resonance peak at 4.5 GHz remains almost
motionless, which is in great contrast with shifting property of the resonance peak as εx
varies. The pass band around 10 GHz tends to shift to lower frequencies while the bandwidth
of the pass band remains almost the same for different εy . Besides, larger εy values drive
the third pass band to the lower frequency regime, and the corresponding bandwidth is
expanded. By comparing Fig. 4 and Fig. 6, it is obvious that the tuning effects of εx and
εy on the transmission spectrum are quite different, and this means that we can flexibly
change and control the transmission spectrum of the LHMs. This is also the advantage of
526 SPECTRAL EFFECTS CAUSED BY . . . VOL. 47

FIG. 5: Simulated transmission spectrum of the LHM with εx =8.

an anisotropic dielectric substrate over an isotropic dielectric substrate.

FIG. 6: FDTD Simulated transmission spectrum of the LHM with different εy values.

Finally, we vary the value of εz to further investigate the spectrum effects of a LHM
with an anisotropic substrate. εz is respectively set to the value of 2, 4, and 8, at the same
time εx and εy are fixed to the value of 4. It is evident from Fig. 7 that the variation of εz
leads to changes in all the pass bands. The LHM characteristic resonance is moved to lower
frequencies because of the increased permittivity εz , and the second pass band is narrowed
in bandwidth while shifting to a lower frequency regime. In addition, with the increase of
εz , we also observed the third pass band shifting to a lower frequency range as well as a
dramatic decrease in its bandwidth.
VOL. 47 HONGXIN ZHANG, TIANMING CHEN, et al. 527

FIG. 7: FDTD simulated transmission spectrum of the LHM with different εz values.

IV. CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, by introducing an anisotropic dielectric substrate, we exploit a new

method of controlling the transmission properties of LHMs. Different dielectric board per-
mittivities along different directions would play different roles in controlling the transmis-
sion spectrum of LHMs. The increase of εx can result in the shift of the LHM resonance
frequency and sometimes gives rise to the property of one single-peaked pass band splitting
into three discrete pass bands. The variation of εy would lead to the shift of two pass bands
and also has a certain effect in changing their bandwidths. Last, by choosing different εz
values, we are offered the opportunity of controlling both the resonance frequency and the
properties of the two pass bands. Since the three permittivity values of the anisotropic
dielectric substrate in the x, y, and z directions can change and control the transmission
spectrum of the LHMs in different patterns, it would be a favorable choice for manufacturing
LHMs with desired transmission properties by properly combining the three permittivity
values of the substrates.

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the National Science Fundation of China (grant Nos.
60871081, 60671055, 60771060), the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of
Higher Education(grant Nos. 20070013002, 20070013004) and the Open Fund of State Key
Laboratory of Information Security (Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences), P.
R. China.
528 SPECTRAL EFFECTS CAUSED BY . . . VOL. 47

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