Experimental evidence of cut-wire-induced enhanced transmission of transverse-electric fields through sub-wavelength slits in a thin metallic screen

Recent numerical studies have demonstrated the possibility of achieving substantial enhancements in the transmission of transverse-electric-polarized electromagnetic fields through subwavelength slits in a thin metallic screen by placing single or paired metallic cut-wire arrays at a close distance from the screen. In this Letter, we report on the first experimental evidence of such extraordinary transmission phenomena, via microwave (X/Ku-band) measurements on printed-circuit-board prototypes. Experimental results agree very well with full-wave numerical predictions, and indicate an intrinsic robustness of the enhanced transmission phenomena with respect to fabrication tolerances and experimental imperfections.