Gradient index sonic lenses based on two-dimensional sonic crystals are here designed, fabricated, and characterized. The index-gradient is achieved in these type of flat lenses by a gradual modification of the sonic crystal filling fraction along the direction perpendicular to the lens axis. The focusing performance is well described by an analytical model based on ray theory as well as by numerical simulations based on the multiple-scattering theory.
An elastic analog of graphene is introduced and analyzed. The system consists of a honeycomb arrangement of spring-mass resonators attached to a thin elastic layer, and the propagation properties of flexural waves along it is studied. The band-structure calculation shows the presence of Dirac points near the $K$ point of the Brillouin zone. Analytical expressions are found for both Dirac frequency and velocity as a function of the resonator's parameters. Finally, the bounded modes of infinitely long ribbons of this honeycomb arrangement are analyzed. The presence of edge states, which are studied using multiple scattering theory, is shown. It is concluded that these structures can be used to control the propagation of flexural waves in thin plates.
We demonstrate the presence of Dirac cones in the dispersion relation of acoustic waves propagating on the surface of a plate of methyl methacrylate containing a honeycomb lattice of cylindrical boreholes. This structure represents the acoustic analogue of graphene, the cylindrical cavities playing the role of carbon atoms while acoustic surface waves are the equivalent of electronic waves in graphene. Analytical expressions for the Dirac frequency and Dirac velocity in acoustics are given as a function of the radius and depth of boreholes. These parameters have been experimentally determined for a constructed structure and the data are in fairly good agreement with the predicted values.