There is an active effort toward the development of negative index metamaterials for application in high-resolution imaging. In particular, engineering an artificial material exhibiting an index of exactly -1, may permit sub-wavelength imaging. This research was directed toward the development of a negative one index metamaterial using a modified version of an S patterned meta model designed and experimentally tested by Jin Au Kong. This modified S model provided the necessary insight into the basic elementary parameters responsible for realizing a negative index. Based on this, it became clear how variable conductivity could result in achieving a -1 index. What followed was an investigation into the Drude model of conductivity. This model though not physically realizable demonstrated a negative one-index metamaterial using CST (Computer Simulation Technology) software, and high-resolution imaging was accomplished using the Drude model and CST simulations. These encouraging numerical results provided an ideal model for development toward a physically realizable -1 index meta model. Three different thickness metamaterial negative index lens models were designed using CST having indices in the range of -0.8 and with reasonably low loss. We examined the difficulties in adjusting the designs to better approach -1. These models were built and tested experimentally for comparison with CST simulations, but due specifically to loss made the possibility of viewing images difficult. The primary conclusion is that without a -1 index, the resulting image resolution seen in the simulation would not be significantly improved over the traditional diffraction limit. It was also established that it may be difficult to make further progress toward a -1 index using fixed conductivity models in view of coupling between the many variables involved that determined the actual index in the real built models.
