An analytical approach to describe plane-wave propagation in finite artificial dielectric layers

We present an analytical formulation to describe the plane-wave propagation through artificial dielectric layers (ADLs) of finite thickness. The formulation is based on a spectral domain approach derived for connected arrays. An analytical circuit model based on this approach is reported, which makes use of lumped loads to represent the reactance associated with each layer and the coupling between adjacent layers. Furthermore, a zero order mode transmission lines is used to characterize the transmission and the reflection of an incident plane wave. The circuital representation is first derived for an infinite number of layers and then extended to treat the case of finite height ADL slabs.