Three-dimensional broadband acoustic illusion cloak for sound-hard boundaries of curved geometry

Acoustic illusion cloaks that create illusion effects by changing the scattered wave have many potential applications in a variety of scenarios. However, the experimental realization of generating three-dimensional (3D) acoustic illusions under detection of broadband signals still remains challenging despite the paramount importance for practical applications. Here we report the design and experimental demonstration of a 3D broadband cloak that can effectively manipulate the scattered field to generate the desired illusion effect near curved boundaries. The designed cloak simply comprises positive-index anisotropic materials, with parameters completely independent of either the cloaked object or the boundary. With the ability of manipulating the scattered field in 3D space and flexibility of applying to arbitrary geometries, our method may take a major step toward the real world application of acoustic cloaks and offer the possibilities of building advanced acoustic devices with versatile functionalities.