Metamaterial - Electromagnetic Metamaterials - Classification of Electromagnetic Metamaterials - Negative Index Materials

Negative Index Materials

In negative index metamaterials (NIM), both permittivity and permeability are negative resulting in a negative index of refraction. Hence, because of the double negative parameters these are also known as Double Negative Metamaterials or double negative materials (DNG). Other terminologies for NIMs are "left-handed media", "media with a negative refractive index", and "backward-wave media", along with other nomenclatures.

In optical materials, if both permittivity ε and permeability µ are positive this results in propagation in the forward direction. If both ε and µ are negative, a backward wave is produced. If ε and µ have different polarities, then this does not result in wave propagation. Mathematically, quadrant II and quadrant IV have coordinates (0,0) in a coordinate plane where ε is the horizontal axis, and µ is the vertical axis.

In 1968 Victor Veselago published a paper theorizing plane wave propagation in a material whose permittivity and permeability were assumed to be simultaneously negative. In such a material, he showed that the phase velocity would be anti-parallel to the direction of Poynting vector. This is contrary to wave propagation in natural occurring materials. In the years 2000 and 2001, papers were published about the first demonstrations of an artificial material that produced a negative index of refraction. By 2007, research experiments which involved negative refractive index had been conducted by many groups.

To date, materials exhibiting a negative index of refraction have only been demonstrated as artificially constructed materials.