Negative capacitor paves the way to ultra-broadband metamaterials

Experimental demonstration of the overcoming of basic dispersion-energy constraints in metamaterials with the help of active non-Foster negative capacitors is reported. The experimental metamaterial operates in RF regime, and it is based on air transmission line loaded with negative capacitors. Measurement results clearly show almost dispersionless Epsilon-Near-Zero behavior, accompanied with superluminal both phase and group velocities, over a bandwidth of more than four octaves (2 MHz-40 MHz). The principle of periodic loading of transmission line with negative capacitors may find applications in ultra-broadband active metamaterials for antennas and cloaking technology. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3671366]