Metamaterials with Negative Parameters
Theory, Design and Microwave Applications
Chapter One
The Electrodynamics of
Left-Handed Media
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Continuous media with negative parameters, that is, media with negative dielectric
constant, [epsilon], or magnetic permeability, µ, have long been known in electromagnetic
theory. In fact, the Drude-Lorentz model (which is applicable to most materials) predicts
regions of negative [epsilon] or µ just above each resonance, provided losses are small
enough. Although losses usually prevent the onset of this property in common
dielectrics, media with negative [epsilon] can be found in nature. The best-known examples
are low-loss plasmas, and metals and semiconductors at optical and infrared frequencies
(sometimes called solid-state plasmas). Media with negative µ are less common
in nature due to the weak magnetic interactions in most solid-state materials. Only
in ferrimagnetic materials are magnetic interactions strong enough (and losses small
enough) to produce regions of negative ma ... read full excerpt from Metamaterials with Negative Parameters : Theory, Design and Microwave Applications ebook
