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Abstract We present a broadband impedance matching model for traveling waves on lossy magnetic metamaterials known as magnetoinductive waveguides (MIWs) in conductive media. Thus far, broadband impedance matching has only been demonstrated in the case of a lossless MIW in free-space due to complexities introduced by losses and eddy current effects. As such, current studies in conductive environments have been limited to utilizing narrow-band matching techniques or relying on attenuation to mitigate reflections, thus limiting the system performance in terms of bandwidth and transmission loss. The proposed model overcomes these limitations by utilizing the nearest neighbor coupling and binomial approximations to generate transducer design criteria in terms of equivalent circuit parameters for broadband impedance matching. To validate the model, a transducer is designed for a 40-MHz lossy MIW submerged in an ocean water phantom. Reflection coefficient results demonstrate a 15.5% fractional bandwidth and a maximum value of − 9.0 dB in the propagation band of the MIW, indicating excellent performance. This model expands the potential design space of MIWs to include complex environments such as underwater, underground, or on the human body. 

Abstract The propagation of magnetoinductive (MI) waves across magnetic metamaterials known as magnetoinductive waveguides (MIWs) has been an area of interest for many applications due to the flexible design and low-loss performance in challenging radio-frequency (RF) environments. Thus far, the dispersion behavior of MIWs has been limited to mono- and diatomic geometries. In this work, we present a recursive method to generate the dispersion equation for a general poly-atomic MIW. This recursive method greatly simplifies the ability to create closed-form dispersion equations for unique poly-atomic MIW geometries versus the previous method. To demonstrate, four MIW geometries that have been selected for their unique symmetries are analyzed using the recursive method. Using applicable simplifications brought on by the geometric symmetries, a closed-form dispersion equation is reported for each case. The equations are then validated numerically and show excellent agreement in all four cases. This work simultaneously aids in the further development of MIW theory and offers new avenues for MIW design in the presented dispersion equations.