Features of surface modes in metamaterial layers

In this paper, we present a study of the waveguiding properties of metamaterial layers. We pay particular attention to peculiar features that have not yet been given sufficient consideration in previous publications, with an emphasis on the physical interpretation of these results. We attempt to follow the transition of waves guided by a solitary “metamaterial–vacuum” boundary (the so-called true surface wave—TSW) to modes guided by the metamaterial layer. We considered the way TSW of different types (forward, backward and degenerated) transform to the layer modes and examined the features arising in the dispersion curves. For example, “pulling” of the dispersion curve into the frequency region where TSWs do not exist separately, presence of the bend for all modes produced by backward TSWs, existence of the waves with complex conjugate propagation constants, etc.