Five-channel frequency-division multiplexing using low-loss epsilon-near-zero metamaterial waveguide

The rapidly growing global data usage has demanded more efficient ways to utilize the scarce electromagnetic spectrum resource. Recent research has focused on the development of efficient multiplexing techniques in the millimeter-wave band (1–10 mm, or 30–300 GHz) due to the promise of large available bandwidth for future wireless networks. Frequency-division multiplexing is still one of the most commonly-used techniques to maximize the transmission capacity of a wireless network. Based on the frequency-selective tunnelling effect of the low-loss epsilon-near-zero metamaterial waveguide, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate five-channel frequency-division multiplexing and demultiplexing in the millimeter-wave range. We show that this device architecture offers great flexibility to manipulate the filter Q-factors and the transmission spectra of different channels, by changing of the epsilon-near-zero metamaterial waveguide topology and by adding a standard waveguide between two epsilon-near-zero channels. This strategy of frequency-division multiplexing may pave a way for efficiently allocating the spectrum for future communication networks.