A route to all frequency homogenization of periodic structures

Abstract: We start from a one-dimensional periodic multilayered stack in order to define a frequency power expansion of effective permittivity, permeability and bianisotropic parameters. It is shown from the first order that a simple dielectric multilayer can display a magnetoelectric coupling effect and, from the second order, that artificial magnetism can be obtained with arbitrary low contrast. However, this frequency power expansion is found to diverge at the first band gap edge. Thus, an alternative set of effective parameters, made of the propagation index and the surface impedance, is proposed. It is established that these effective parameters, as functions of the complex frequency, possess all the analytic properties required by the causality principle and passivity. Finally, we provide arguments to extend these results to the three-dimensional and frequency-dispersive case.