Figure-of-Merit Analysis of Resonant Particles for Construction of Practical Metamaterials

We present a critical study on the figure-of-merit (FoM) associated with loss and bandwidth of the metamaterials based on resonant particles such as split-ring resonators (SRRs) The FoMs are calculated analytically and verified numerically for the metamaterials with various electrical sizes and volumetric densities for the constituent particles. High volumetric density and electrically large particles demonstrate superior FoMs for the construction of practical metamaterials. A loss tangent of 0.01 and fractional bandwidth of 1.2% can be achieved by using the resonant particles with their sizes close to 0.06 wavelengths.