Forward coupling phenomena between artificial left-handed transmission lines

Coupling phenomena between artificial left-handed (LH) transmission lines are explored on the basis of a transmission line approach of LH materials. A LH forward coupler in the form of an ideal lumped-element ladder network is presented and is shown to exhibit strong forward coupling that increases with decreasing of frequency. A quasi-lumped element microstrip implementation of a LH coupler is proposed. It is demonstrated that this coupler requires a shorter coupling length in comparison with the conventional right-handed coupled-line forward couplers, and hence makes the device much more compact. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.