A coaxial test fixture for transmission/reflection measurements of metamaterials

Metamaterial structures exhibiting negative permittivity and/or negative permeability have been given considerable attention in recent years, but limited discussion has been given to a standard way of measuring these structures. Often, metamaterial measurements involve cumbersome fabrication and setup procedures making it very difficult in some cases to generate accurate data because of noise in the system or the complexity of the setup. This paper presents the design of a test fixture that overcomes much of the difficulty in metamaterial measurements to provide quick and accurate data. Furthermore, the data generated from this test fixture can be used directly with current extraction routines to determine the effective properties associated with the metamaterial structure.