A low-reflection coaxial tunable attenuator based on zero refractive index metamaterial

In this paper, we design a low-reflection coaxial tunable attenuator with a maximum attenuation of -50 dB by use of zero refractive index metamaterial. Almost no reflection is observed from input port of the proposed structure, due to the easily accessible impedance matching derived from the use of zero refractive index metamaterial. The relationship between attenuation and the air gap width can be well described by an equivalent circuit model. Interestingly, the ratio of input to output voltage is linearly related to the gap width due to the eliminated fringing capacitance by zero-refraction metamaterial, which makes it easy to achieve accurate calibration of the proposed attenuator. The low reflection and linear relationships enable the proposed attenuator to hold promising potential for practical applications. Published by AIP Publishing.