Reflection and transmission of waves from artificial-material layers made of periodic material blocks

This paper discusses electromagnetic properties of artificial material layers made of planar periodic dielectric blocks. A full-wave 3D integral-equation moment method is applied to the characterization of plane waves reflection from and transmission through such layers. The electric fields within the periodic blocks are treated as current sources and are expanded in terms of finite element cells. The method involves a full dyadic Green's function. An effective dielectric constant is defined based on the reflection coefficient of normal incident plane waves. This effective medium approximation is found to be accurate for low frequencies. The resonant characteristics of implanted blocks are examined. The applications of the artificial materials as dielectric absorbers are also discussed.