A d.c. magnetic metamaterial

Electromagnetic metamaterials(1-3) are a class of materials that have been artificially structured on a subwavelength scale. They are currently the focus of a great deal of interest because they allow access to previously unrealizable properties such as a negative refractive index(4). Most metamaterial designs have so far been based on resonant elements, such as split rings(5), and research has concentrated on microwave frequencies and above. Here, we present the first experimental realization of a non-resonant metamaterial designed to operate at zero frequency. Our samples are based on a recently proposed template(6) for an anisotropic magnetic metamaterial consisting of an array of superconducting plates. Magnetometry experiments show a strong, adjustable diamagnetic response when a field is applied perpendicular to the plates. We have calculated the corresponding effective permeability, which agrees well with theoretical predictions. Applications for this metamaterial may include non-intrusive screening of weak d.c. magnetic fields.