Modal analysis of planar structures loaded with wire-medium slabs using a transmission-line approach

A transmission-line approach is presented for the analysis of planar structures including homogenized wire-medium slabs with vertically aligned wires. The network formalism allows for an effective determination of the modal dispersion equation via transverse resonance, as opposed to the more cumbersome field-matching approach. A parallel-plate waveguide loaded with wire medium to suppress TEM-mode propagation is considered as a case study. Numerical results, benchmarked also against state-of-the-art simulation software, confirm the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed formulation.