Metamaterials and depolarization factors

Abstract

Depolarization factors of scatterers within anisotropic media are functions of not only the shape of the inclusion but also of the degree of anisotropy of the environment. In this contribution the depolarization factors are studied for anisotropic metamaterials. In such case, qualitativ ely new phenomena appear because the effective axial ratio of the scatterers, whic h determines the depolarization factors, ma y become complex. The negative real part of the depolatization factors is interpreted as "repolarization." The effect of the various parameters on the depolarization factors and effective dielectric parameters are analyzed and discussed for both three- and two-dimensional mixtures, with emphasis on the dissipative character of the homogenized metamaterials.