Design and Analysis of Three-Dimensionalized ELC Metamaterial Unit Cell

The use of a three-dimensional electric-LC (3D-ELC) resonator to obtain a minimally refractive and strongly transmissive composite metamaterial is explored. The 3D-ELC repeated unit cell consists of two ELC elements that, when put together, may be used to generate responding electric dipole moments in the x??, y??, and z?? directions. When embedded inside a host material whose permittivity is significantly greater than unity, the repeated 3D-ELC metamaterial can be used to depress the effective dielectric constant of the resulting composite material to a near-unity value in all Cartesian directions. The concept of designing a unity-index metamaterial-with the properties of free space-may prove useful in creating mechanically durable materials for use as radomes or other enclosures for radiating structures.