On-chip phased interdigital metamaterials enable versatile manipulation of surface acoustic waves, microfluids, and...

Area of Science:

• Acoustics and Materials Science
• Metamaterials Engineering
• Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Devices

Background:

• Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are crucial for quantum information processing, optomechanics, and microfluidics.
• Current SAW devices lack the fine control offered by metamaterials for bulk acoustic waves.
• Metamaterials enable versatile subwavelength-resolution manipulation of acoustic waves.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop on-chip metamaterials for versatile surface acoustic wave (SAW) manipulation.
• To enable precise control over SAW wavefronts, energy patterns, and device functionalities.
• To demonstrate advanced applications in microfluidics and micro/nano-object manipulation.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of on-chip phased interdigital metamaterials (PIMs).
• Encoding deep-subwavelength-resolution phase profiles into customized interdigital electrode geometries.
• Experimental characterization of SAW transformation and manipulation capabilities.

Main Results:

• On-chip PIMs successfully transform forward SAWs into desired wavefronts and energy patterns.
• Demonstrated capabilities include directional SAWs, confined SAW jets, and twin jets.
• Achieved "diode-like" SAW transmission for unidirectional information routing.
• Generated unique SAW energy patterns for active control of fluid streaming and micro/nano-object distributions.

Conclusions:

• On-chip PIMs provide unprecedented control over SAWs, analogous to metamaterial control of bulk acoustic waves.
• These PIMs offer versatile functionalities for transforming SAWs and manipulating micro/nano-objects.
• The technology holds significant potential for advancing quantum information processing, optomechanics, and acoustofluidics.