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Impedance metasurfaces enable accurate regulation of acoustic fields. However, they can hardly supply a flexible response as such perfect operation is accompanied by stringent requirements on the design of unit cells. Actually, an arbitrary lossless and passive target impedance matrix requires the tuning of 3 independent real parameters. The set composed of a reflection phase, a transmission amplitude, and a transmission phase, enables the representation of an arbitrary impedance matrix, possibly possessing singular elements. In this paper, a mechanism of phase-amplitude-phase modulation (PAP modulation) is developed for the generic design of the unit cells of acoustic impedance metasurfaces. Adjustable acoustic impedance metasurfaces are further available under this framework. An impedance unit with 3 mobile parts is designed based on this idea. The assembled metasurface can handle different incidences for acoustic field manipulation at a given frequency. Beam steering and beam splitting are considered as demonstration examples and are verified by numerical simulation and experiment. PAP modulation enriches the design of acoustic impedance metasurfaces and extends the range of application of impedance theory., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article., (Copyright © 2024 Yu-Ze Tian et al.)

Non-Newtonian liquids are characterized by stress and velocity-dependent dynamical response. In elasticity, and in particular, in the field of phononics, reciprocity in the equations acts against obtaining a directional response for passive media. Active stimuli-responsive materials have been conceived to overcome it. Significantly, Milton and Willis have shown theoretically in 2007 that quasi-rigid bodies containing masses at resonance can display a very rich dynamical behavior, hence opening a route toward the design of non-reciprocal and non-Newtonian metamaterials. In this paper, we design a solid structure that displays unidirectional shock resistance, thus going beyond Newton's second law in analogy to non-Newtonian fluids. We design the mechanical metamaterial with finite element analysis and fabricate it using three-dimensional printing at the centimetric scale (with fused deposition modeling) and at the micrometric scale (with two-photon lithography). The non-Newtonian elastic response is measured via dynamical velocity-dependent experiments. Reversing the direction of the impact, we further highlight the intrinsic non-reciprocal response., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

In solid state physics, phase transitions can influence material functionality and alter their properties. In mechanical metamaterials, structural-phase transitions can be achieved through instability or buckling of certain structural elements. However, these fast transitions in one mechanical parameter typically affect significantly the remaining parameters, hence, limiting their applications. Here, this limitation is addressed by designing a novel 3D mechanical metamaterial that is capable of undergoing a phase transition from positive to negative Poisson's ratio under compression, without significant degradation of Young's modulus (i.e. the phase transition is elastically-stable). The metamaterial is fabricated by two-photon lithography at the micro-scale and its mechanical behavior is assessed experimentally. For another choice of structural parameters, it is then shown that the auxetic behavior of the considered 3D metamaterial class can be maintained over a wide range of applied compressive strain., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

As peptides gained interest as new drugs in the past years, their synthetic routes had been the subject of review and improvement. Fmoc/tBu-based solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) is the most convenient technique, and the implementation in continuous flow has allowed for single-pass coupling and deprotection reactions. The focus of this research is to evaluate the relationship between undesired solvent-promoted reactions and final crude purity, by studying volume changes of a variable bed flow reactor through the synthesis. Based on the temperature, typical solvents for SPPS such as dimethylformamide (DMF) or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) can cause unwanted Fmoc removal during wash steps. It was found that for every millilitre of DMF used at 80°C, up to 1 μmol of Fmoc-protected peptide is deprotected, leading to additional impurities. This effect can, however, be minimised by adding additives such as HOBt, which reduces such unwanted deprotection to just 0.1 μmol/ml., (© 2022 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Stepper motors and actuators are among the main constituents of control motion devices. They are complex multibody systems with rather large overall volume due to their multifunctional parts and elaborate technological assembly processes. Miniaturization of individual parts is still posing assembly problems. In this paper, a single-step lithography process to fabricate a micro-stepper engine with an accurate micrometric rotation axis and an overall sub-millimeter size is demonstrated. The device is based on the frictional contacts and chiral metamaterials to get rid of the dependence on the accuracy of parts. The functional aspects of fabricated samples are discussed for many rotation cycles and for different frictional surfaces., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Three-dimensional direct laser writing technology enables one to print polymer microstructures whose size varies from a few hundred nanometers to a few millimeters. It has been shown that, by tuning the laser power during writing, one can adjust continuously the optical and elastic properties with the same base material. This process is referred to as gray-tone lithography. In this paper, we characterize by Brillouin light scattering the complex elastic constant C11 of different reticulated isotropic polymers, at longitudinal phonon frequencies of the order of 16 GHz. We estimate the real part of the C11 constant to vary from 7 to 11 GPa as a function of laser power, whereas its imaginary part varies between 0.25 and 0.6 GPa. The linear elastic properties are further measured at a fixed laser power as a function of temperature, from 20∘C to 80∘C. Overall, we show that our 3D printed samples have a good elastic quality with high Q factors only ten times smaller than fused silica at hypersonic frequencies.

Previously, rotons were observed in correlated quantum systems at low temperatures, including superfluid helium and Bose-Einstein condensates. Here, following a recent theoretical proposal, we report the direct experimental observation of roton-like dispersion relations in two different three-dimensional metamaterials under ambient conditions. One experiment uses transverse elastic waves in microscale metamaterials at ultrasound frequencies. The other experiment uses longitudinal air-pressure waves in macroscopic channel–based metamaterials at audible frequencies. In both experiments, we identify the roton-like minimum in the dispersion relation that is associated to a triplet of waves at a given frequency. Our work shows that designed interactions in metamaterials beyond the nearest neighbors open unprecedented experimental opportunities to tailor the lowest dispersion branch—while most previous metamaterial studies have concentrated on shaping higher dispersion branches.

Manipulation of mechanical motion at the micro-scale has been attracting continuous attention, leading to the successful implementation of various strategies with potential impact on classical and quantum information processing. We propose an approach based on the interplay between a pair of localised mechanical resonators and travelling surface acoustic waves (SAW). We demonstrate the existence of a two-sided interaction, allowing the use of SAW to trigger and control the resonator oscillation, and to manipulate the elastic energy distribution on the substrate through resonator coupling. Observation of the vectorial structure of the resonator motion reveals the existence of two coupling regimes, a dipole-dipole-like interaction at small separation distance versus a surface-mediated mechanical coupling at larger separation. These results illustrate the potential of this platform for coherent control of mechanical vibration at a resonator level, and reciprocally for manipulating SAW propagation using sub-wavelength elements.

We model the generation of coherent acoustic beams in a homogeneous solid from the interference of two oppositely propagating, detuned optical laser beams. This configuration is reciprocal to Brillouin light scattering in the backward interaction arrangement. Generation of a confined ultrasound beam is predicted, close to the Brillouin frequency. Optoacoustic gain spectra and beam shapes are obtained numerically using a finite element model. The acoustic spectra are non-symmetrical, i.e., non-Lorentzian, and result from excitation of the continuum of bulk elastic waves. The acoustic beam width correspondingly varies with detuning frequency and optical beam waist.

The measurement of the displacements caused by the propagation of a short pulse of surface acoustic waves on a solid substrate is investigated. A stabilized time-domain differential interferometer is proposed, with the surface acoustic wave (SAW) sample placed outside the interferometer. Experiments are conducted with surface acoustic waves excited by a chirped interdigital transducer on a piezoelectric lithium niobate substrate having an operational bandwidth covering the 200-400MHz frequency range and producing 10-ns pulses with 36nm maximum out-of-plane displacement. The interferometric response is compared with a direct electrical measurement obtained with a receiving wide bandwidth interdigital transducer and good correspondence is observed. The effects of varying the path difference of the interferometer and the measurement position on the surface are discussed. Pulse compression along the chirped interdigital transducer is observed experimentally., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We report, to the best of our knowledge, the first experimental observation of surface Brillouin scattering in silica-based photonic crystal fibers, arising from the interaction between guided light and surface acoustic waves. This was achieved using small-core and high air-filling fraction microstructured fibers that enable a strong opto-acoustic coupling near the air holes while mitigating the acoustic leakages in the microstructured cladding. It is further shown that this new type of light scattering is highly sensitive to the fiber air-hole microstructure, thus providing a passive and efficient way to control it. Our observations are confirmed through numerical simulations of the elastodynamics equation.

Brillouin scattering in optical fibres is a fundamental interaction between light and sound with important implications ranging from optical sensors to slow and fast light. In usual optical fibres, light both excites and feels shear and longitudinal bulk elastic waves, giving rise to forward-guided acoustic wave Brillouin scattering and backward-stimulated Brillouin scattering. In a subwavelength-diameter optical fibre, the situation changes dramatically, as we here report with the first experimental observation of Brillouin light scattering from surface acoustic waves. These Rayleigh-type surface waves travel the wire surface at a specific velocity of 3,400 m s(-1) and backscatter the light with a Doppler shift of about 6 GHz. As these acoustic resonances are sensitive to surface defects or features, surface acoustic wave Brillouin scattering opens new opportunities for various sensing applications, but also in other domains such as microwave photonics and nonlinear plasmonics.

We study simultaneous photonic and phononic crystal slabs created in Z-cut lithium niobate membranes. Bandgaps for guided waves are identified using the three-dimensional finite element method (FEM). Three lattices are considered: the square, the hexagonal, and the honeycomb lattices. We investigate the evolution of band gaps as a function of geometrical parameters such as hole radius and membrane thickness. We show the existence of dual photonic and phononic bandgaps in the triangular lattice for suitable geometrical parameters and specific modal symmetries for both the elastic and the electromagnetic fields.

We investigate the onset of nonlinear effects in hybrid polymer-chalcogenide optical microwires and show that they provide an enhanced Kerr nonlinearity while simultaneously mitigating stimulated Brillouin scattering as compared to both chalcogenide and silica optical fibers. It is shown in particular that the polymer cladding surrounding the microwire significantly broadens the Brillouin linewidth and increases the threshold, thus enabling Kerr nonlinear applications. We also study the influence of the wire diameter on the Brillouin dynamics and demonstrate that the Brillouin frequency shift can be finely tuned over a wide radio-frequency range.

We demonstrate theoretically that photons and acoustic phonons can be simultaneously guided and slowed down in specially designed nanostructures. Phoxonic crystal waveguides presenting simultaneous phononic and photonic band gaps were designed in perforated silicon membranes that can be conveniently obtained using silicon-on-insulator technology. Geometrical parameters for simultaneous photonic and phononic band gaps were first chosen for optical wavelengths around 1550 nm, based on the finite element analysis of a perfect phoxonic crystal of circular holes. A plain core waveguide was then defined, and simultaneous slow light and elastic guided modes were identified for some waveguide width. Joint guidance of light and elastic waves is predicted with group velocities as low as c/25 and 180 m/s, respectively., (© 2011 Optical Society of America)

The propagation of acoustic waves in a square-lattice phononic crystal slab consisting of a single layer of spherical steel beads in a solid epoxy matrix is studied experimentally. Waves are excited by an ultrasonic transducer and fully characterized on the slab surface by laser interferometry. A complete band gap is found to extend around 300 kHz, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The transmission attenuation caused by absorption and band gap effects is obtained as a function of frequency and propagation distance. Well confined acoustic wave propagation inside a line-defect waveguide is further observed experimentally.

The need for high-frequency, wide-band filters has instigated many developments based on combining thin piezoelectric films and high acoustic velocity materials (sapphire, diamond-like carbon, silicon, etc.) to ease the manufacture of devices operating above 2 GHz. In the present work, a technological process has been developed to achieve thin-oriented, single-crystal lithium niobate (LiNbO3) layers deposited on (100) silicon wafers for the fabrication of radio-frequency (RF) surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. The use of such oriented thin films is expected to favor large coupling coefficients together with a good control of the layer properties, enabling one to chose the best combination of layer orientation to optimize the device. A theoretical analysis of the elastic wave assumed to propagate on such a combination of material is first exposed. Technological aspects then are described briefly. Experimental results are presented and compared to the state of art.

We experimentally investigate guided acoustic wave Brillouin scattering in several photonic crystal fibers by use of the so-called fiber loop mirror technique and show a completely different dynamics with respect to standard all-silica fibers. In addition to the suppression of most acoustic phonons, we show that forward Brillouin scattering in photonic crystal fibers is substantially enhanced only for the fundamental acoustic phonon because of efficient transverse acousto-optic field overlap. The results of our numerical simulations reveal that this high-frequency phonon is indeed trapped within the fiber core by the air-hole microstructure, in good agreement with experimental measurements.

In the race toward attosecond pulses, for which high-order harmonics generated in rare gases are the best candidates, both the harmonic spectral range and the spectral phase have to be controlled. We demonstrate that multilayer extreme-ultraviolet chirped mirrors can be numerically optimized and designed to compensate for the intrinsic harmonic chirp that was recently discovered and that is responsible for temporal broadening of pulses. A simulation shows that an optimized mirror is capable of compressing the duration from approximately 260 to 90 as. This new technique is an interesting solution because of its ability to cover a wider spectral range than other technical devices that have already been proposed to overcome the chirp of high harmonics.

We report on the 3-D modelling of periodic arrays of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUTs) operating in fluid. Specific developments have been performed to model biperiodic transducer arrays and to take into account radiation into any stratified media at the front-side as well as the back-side of the device. The model is based on a periodic finite-element-analysis/boundary-element-method (FEA/BEM). It is applied to micromachined ultrasonic transducers (MUTs), based on silicon-nitride-circular-membrane arrays on a silicon substrate, and operating in water. The spectrum characteristics of MUTs excited in phase are investigated, showing that very-large-band emission is achievable as previously demonstrated by many authors. However, other contributions are also found, depending on the excitation conditions, that do not radiate in the fluid. These contributions are identified as guided modes that could generate significant cross-talk effects. The origin and the nature of these modes is analyzed to gain insight in the actual operation of MUTs.

A plane-wave-expansion method suited to the analysis of surface-acoustic-wave propagation in two-dimensional piezoelectric phononic crystals is described. The surface modes of a square-lattice Y-cut lithium niobate phononic crystal with circular void inclusions with a filling fraction of 63% are identified. It is found that a large full band gap with a fractional bandwidth of 34% exists for surface acoustic waves of any polarization and incidence, coincidentally with the full band gap for bulk waves propagating in the plane of the surface. The excitation of surface acoustic waves by interdigital transducers is discussed.

Several models exist for analyzing the wave-guiding effect of a reflective grating. On the one hand, there are models based on scalar waveguide theory. These models consider that a device can be described as being made of several regions having different velocities. On the other hand, an extension of the coupling of modes (COM) model taking into account the transverse dimension has been developed. This paraxial COM model predicts that guidance is possible even when there is no velocity difference between the interior and the exterior of the grating region. Guidance, under such circumstances, is due only to differences in reflectivity between regions. Following from this insight, a new approach has been developed: guided modes and the continuum of radiating modes are first determined. At each period, reflections then are considered as occurring only in the reflective regions, so that the modes are truncated. Thus, at each reflection (and transmission), each mode is converted into a distribution of all modes. Dispersion curves very similar to those shown by other researchers are obtained by this method. They show, in particular, the existence of guided modes even when the wave velocity in all regions is identical. This model can be used to more easily analyze practical devices and exhibits a good agreement with experimental results.

We introduce the concept of dyadic Green's functions of a laminar plate. These functions generalize classical Green's functions. In addition to relating displacements and stresses at the surface of a medium, they relate these quantities at both the top and the bottom surfaces of a medium of finite thickness and infinite extent in the transverse directions. We describe here the calculation of these functions in the spectral domain and provide some academic examples demonstrating their interest.

It was shown that elastic waves propagating out-of-plane in a two-dimensional phononic crystal can experience full-band-gaps for nonzero values of the wave-vector component parallel to the rods. By further inserting a rod defect, it is demonstrated that modes propagating along the rod defect can be localized within the band-gaps of the phononic crystal. Such waveguide modes are exhibited for a tungsten/epoxy composite containing an aluminum nitride rod as the rod defect. It is expected that guided modes of such a structure can be excited and detected electrically owing to the piezoelectric effect.

The finite element method/boundary element method (FEM/BEM) computation model applied to surface acoustic wave devices requires the solution of a large linear system for each frequency point. An asymptotic waveform evaluation technique is used to obtain an approximate solution of the linear system that is valid over a large frequency bandwidth. The approximate solution was shown to be very accurate and vastly reduces the computation time.

The basic problem of the diffraction of an optical plane wave by an acoustic plane wave in an anisotropic homogeneous medium is considered. The acousto-optical interaction is considered indifferently of the isotropic or of the birefringent type. Coupled-wave equations are obtained rigorously and cast into an eigenvalue value problem. A general solution is obtained for the diffraction efficiency of diffracted orders, for any interaction length and diffraction regime. The theory includes the Bragg regime, the Raman-Nath regime, and all intermediate situations in the same formulation. The method of solution is both exact and computationally efficient. It is similar in character to the rigorous coupled-wave analysis of Moharam and Gaylord but differs by the choice of basis functions adapted to propagating rather than static gratings. Examples are given for acousto-optical interaction in paratellurite, TeO2.

Interface acoustic waves (IAWs), also termed boundary waves, propagate at the interface between two solids. We present two IAW numerical analysis tools, inspired from well established surface acoustic wave (SAW) methods. First, the interface effective permittivity is derived for arbitrary piezoelectric solids and is used to estimate some basic parameters of IAWs. The harmonic admittance for an interface excitation is then derived from the interface effective permittivity, in much the same way the harmonic admittance for surface excitation is obtained from the (surface) effective permittivity. The finite electrode thickness is neglected in this problem analysis. The harmonic admittance is used to model propagation in case an infinite periodic interdigital transducer is located at the interface. Simulation results are commented upon for some usual piezoelectric material cuts and outline a modal selection specific to IAWs as compared with SAWs. The temperature dependence of the resonance frequency is also estimated.

We have used a plane-wave-expansion model to study the out-of-plane propagation of elastic waves in a two-dimensional phononic band-gap material. The case of quartz rods embedded in an epoxy matrix has been computed. Band gaps for nonzero values of the wave-vector component parallel to the rods are shown to exist and are investigated. For wavelengths smaller than the period of the structure, modes are found that are localized in the epoxy intersites, and propagate perpendicularly to the plane of the structure.