Characteristics of a switchable metamaterial based parallel plate waveguide derived by electromagnetic simulation

A parametric study of a switchable parallel-plate waveguide, consisting of a metamaterial based high impedance surface built in microstrip technology, a metal plane and a dielectric layer filling the space between them is presented. The geometry of the surface can be switched by means of diodes directly biased through the two metallic planes without employing any further dedicated network. Variations of both geometrical and material parameters have been considered in the electromagnetic simulations. The frequency behavior of the proposed structures, devised for filtering applications and featuring several electromagnetic band-gaps is reported by means of dispersion diagrams. The large number of band-gaps and their variation makes the structure suitable for high sensitivity sensors or filters with high steep roll-off.