Split-ring-based metamaterial for far-field subwavelength focusing based on time reversal

Abstract

In this paper, split-ring-based metamaterial sheets are designed for the purpose of achieving far-field subwavelength focusing, with the aid of a time-reversal technique. The metamaterial sheets are inserted into a subwavelength array consisting of four element antennas, with the element spacing being as small as 1/15 of a wavelength. Experiments are performed to investigate the effect of the metamaterial sheets on the focusing resolution. The results demonstrate that in the presence of the metamaterial sheets, the subwavelength array exhibits the ability to achieve super-resolution focusing, while there is no super-resolution focusing without the metamaterial sheets. Further investigation shows that the metamaterial sheets are contributive to achieving super-resolution by weakening the cross-correlations of the channel impulse responses between the array elements.