Equal phase slope metamaterial transmission lines

A methodology is presented here for designing a family of various length metamaterial transmission lines (MTM-TL), all having equal phase and phase slopes. These MTM lines are designed from different combinations of single CRLH unit cells that are the same physical length, but have different phase and phase slopes associated with each. By correctly combining the phase and phase slopes of each of these unit cells together, a MTM-TL line of various lengths can be achieved with a desired phase response. The results presented here will show various MTM-TL lengths can be designed with the same phase and phase slope as a conventional microstrip TL of fixed length. The significance of these results indicate the possibility for engineering MTM-TLs that can occupy a smaller footprint than conventional TLs with increased phase bandwidth for tightly fitting phase shifting networks.