We show both experimentally and theoretically the evanescent behavior of modes in the band gap of finite phononic crystal (PC). Based on experimental and numerical data we obtain the imaginary part of the wave vector in good agreement with the complex band structures obtained by the extended plane wave expansion. The calculated and measured acoustic field of a localized mode out of the point defect inside the PC presents also evanescent behavior. The correct understanding of evanescent modes is fundamental for designing narrow filters and waveguides based on PCs with defects.

World agriculture is facing a great challenge since it is necessary to find a sustainable way to increase food production. Current trends in advancing the agriculture sector are based on leveraging remote sensing technology and the use of biostimulants. However, the efficient implementation of both of these on a commercial scale for the purposes of productivity improvement remains a challenge. Thus, by proposing a crop monitoring strategy based on remote sensing data, this paper aims to verify and anticipate the impact of applying a Glycinebetaine biostimulant (GB) on the final yield. The study was carried out in a rice-producing area in Eastern Spain (Valencia) in 2021. GB was applied by drone 33 days after sowing (tillering phase). Phenology was monitored and crop production parameters were determined. Regarding satellite data, Sentinel-2 cloud-free images were obtained from sowing to harvest, using the bands at 10 m. Planet data were used to evaluate the results from Sentinel-2. The results show that GB applied 33 days after sowing improves both crop productive parameters and commercial yield (13.06% increase). The design of the proposed monitoring strategy was based on the dynamics and correlations between the visible (green and red) and NIR bands. The analysis showed differences when comparing the GB and control areas, and permitted the determination of the moment in which the effect of GB on yield (tillering and maturity) may be greater. In addition, an index was constructed to verify the crop monitoring strategy, its mathematical expression being: NCMI = (NIR − (red + green))/(NIR + red + green). Compared with the other VIs (NDVI, GNDVI and EVI2), the NCMI presents a greater sensitivity to changes in the green, red and NIR bands, a lower saturation phenomenon than NDVI and a better monitoring of rice phenology and management than GNDVI and EVI2. These results were evaluated with Planet images, obtaining similar results. In conclusion, in this study, we confirm the improvement in rice crop productivity by improving sustainable plant nutrition with the use of biostimulants and by increasing the components that define crop yield (productive tillers, spikelets and grains). Additionally, crop monitoring using remote sensing technology permits the anticipation and understanding of the productive behavior and the evolution of the phenological stages of the crop, in accordance with crop management.

The emergence of materials artificially designed to control the transmission of waves, generally called metamaterials, has been a hot topic in the field of acoustics for several years. The design of these metamaterials is usually carried out by overlapping different wave control mechanisms. An example of this trend is the so-called Locally Resonant Sonic Materials, being one of them the Phononic Crystals with a local resonant structure. These metamaterials are formed by sets of isolated resonators in such a way that the control of the waves is carried out by resonances and by the existence of Bragg bandgaps, which appear due to the ordered distribution of the resonators. Their use is based on the creation of resonance peaks to form additional nontransmission bands mainly in the low frequency regime, usually below the first Bragg frequency. The coupling of both gaps has been made in some cases, but it is not always so. In this work, using a periodic structure formed by Helmholtz resonators, we report the existence of interferences between the resonances and the Bragg bandgaps when they are working in nearby frequency ranges, so that they prevent the coupling of both gaps. We explain their physical principles and present possible solutions to mitigate them. To this end, we have developed numerical models based on the finite element method, and the results have been verified by means of accurate experimental results obtained under controlled conditions.

The focusing properties of Fresnel Zone Plates (FZPs) against frequency are analyzed in this work. It is shown that the FZP focal length depends almost linearly on the operating frequency. Focal depth and focal distortion are also considered, establishing a limit on the frequency span at which the operating frequency can be shifted. An underwater FZP ultrasound focusing system is demonstrated, and experimental results agree with the theoretical analysis and simulations.

The image performance of acoustic and ultrasound sensors depends on several fundamental parameters such as depth of focus or lateral resolution. There are currently two different types of acoustic diffractive lenses: those that form a diffraction-limited spot with a shallow depth of focus (zone plates) and lenses that form an extended focus (quasi-Bessel beams). In this paper, we investigate a pupil-masked Soret zone plate, which allows the tunability of a normalized angular spectrum. It is shown that the depth of focus and the lateral resolution can be modified, without changing the lens structure, by choosing the size of the pupil mask. This effect is based on the transformation of spherically-converging waves into quasi-conical waves, due to the apodization of the central part of the zone plate. The theoretical analysis is verified with both numerical simulations and experimental measurements. A Soret zone plate immersed in water with D/2F = 2.5 and F = 4.5 $\lambda$ changes its depth of focus from 2.84 $\lambda$ to 5.9 $\lambda$ and the lateral resolution increases from 0.81 $\lambda$ to 0.64 $\lambda$ at a frequency of 250 kHz, by modifying the pupil mask dimensions of the Soret zone plate.