Application of Finite Difference Time Domain Technique to Left-Handed Materials

The aim of this thesis is to simulate left handed materials (metamaterials) by using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. One dimensional (1D) simulations are carried out using Matlab and for two dimensional (2D), MTM-FDTD Virtual Tool is used. FDTD method is used for 1D and 2D simulations to observe wave behavior in metamaterial slab. 1D simulation of air-dielectric-air media were studied for comparison with 1D air-metamaterial-air simulation. In 1D air-dielectric-air simulation, reflection, transmission and a decreased in wave amplitude were observed as wave propagated through the dielectric slab with positive refractive index whereas in 1D air-metamaterial-air simulation exponentially growing wave has been occurred in the metamaterial slab which have a negative refractive index. Also, no reflection was observed in this simulation, therefore, making the simulation successful in meeting the theory. 2D simulations were studied in air-metamaterial-air media by defining different negative refractive indexes for the metamaterial slabs. Different scenarios were tested, the perfect lens behavior was observed with metamaterial slabs having refractive index -1 and all results were found to be consistent with other studies in the literature. Keywords: Metamaterials, Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD), Perfect Lens, Negative Refractive Index, Left-Handed Materials