Magnetic control of negative permeability metamaterials based on liquid crystals

We report on the tunability, by a magnetic field, of a negative permeability metamaterial consisting of stacked arrays of broadside-coupled split ring resonators infiltrated with liquid crystals (LCs). The resonant frequency shift was numerically assessed by a rigorous anisotropic analysis of the reorientation of LC molecules. Experiments were carried out with a prototype designed and fabricated for X-band operation and infiltrated with a nematic compound with optical birefringence Δn=0.18. Scattering parameters vectorial analysis shows a good agreement between the resonant frequency shifts predicted under anisotropic conditions and those measured under static magnetic control.