Metamaterial-based devices at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths

Co-planar strip (CPS) transmission lines, periodically loaded by lumped capacitances and inductances in series and shunt configurations respectively, are analysed. This kind of devices can be considered as a generic broadband negative refractive index metamaterial (NRIM) suitable for applications under wave-guiding or radiating conditions. It operates in the present work at millimetre and sub-millimetre wavelengths and permit us to address most of the specific issues of metamaterial-based device in this frequency range. This includes: (i) the modelling issues on the basis of full-wave analysis or of a lumped element approach; (ii) the technological challenges with a dramatic shrinking of the device dimensions; and (iii) the characterization which is performed in the time domain by electro-optic sampling. At last, we outline the possibility to tune the dispersion characteristics via the use of ferroelectric BST epilayers