The transfer-matrix method and finite-integration simulations show how the transmission properties of combined metamaterials, which consist of metallic cut-wire pairs and continuous wires, are affected by geometric parameters. The corresponding effective permittivity and permeability are retrieved from the complex scattering parameters using the standard retrieval procedure. The electromagnetic properties of the cut-wire pair as well as the left-handed behavior of the combined structure are

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... rstood by the effective medium theory. In addition, the dimensional dependence of transmission properties, the shapes of cut-wire pairs and continuous wire, and the impact of dielectric spacer are both examined. Finally, by expanding the results of previous research (Koschny et al 2003 Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 016608), we generalize the transmission picture of combined structures in terms of the correlation between electric and magnetic responses.