Infrared Imaging of Microwave Negative Index Metamaterials

Microwave negative index metamaterials have been recently characterized by using primarily far-field transmission of flat slabs and wedges to determine transmission losses and index of refraction, respectively. Although these methods are adequate for most purposes, a more complete characterization of spatial transmission is useful to analyze metamaterials in 3-D, for examples, to characterize irregular forms of metamaterials, such as gradients, prisms, and conformal surfaces. We report here the infrared imaging of the transmitted intensity of microwave electromagnetic waves through a prism of the negative index metamaterials.