Electromagnetic interactions in a pair of coupled split-ring resonators

Split-ring resonators (SRRs) are a fundamental building block of many electromagnetic metamaterials. Typically the response of a metamaterial is assumed to be independent of interelement interactions in the material. We show that SRRs in close proximity to each other exhibit a rich coupling that involves both electric and magnetic interactions. We study experimentally and computationally the strength and nature of the coupling between two identical SRRs as a function of their separation and relative orientation. We characterize the electric and magnetic couplings and find that, when SRRs are close enough to be in each other's near field, the electric and magnetic couplings may either reinforce each other or act in opposition. At larger separations retardation effects become important.