All-angle negative refraction for surface acoustic waves in pillar-based two-dimensional phononic structures
Résumé
We describe an all-angle negative refraction effect for surface
acoustic waves in two-dimensional phononic crystals made of cylindrical pillars
assembled in a square lattice and deposited on the surface of a semi-infinite
substrate. The convexity of the iso-frequency contours of some branches leads
to a negative refraction effect despite the fact that the effective index is not
negative. It occurs for the frequency range where the group velocity is never in
opposite direction to the phase velocity. In addition, the use of cylindrical pillars
acting as acoustic resonant elements on the surface permits us to achieve this
phenomenon with a sub-wavelength feature size structure; therefore, the effect
of all-angle negative refraction can be shifted down to low frequencies, which
is highly desirable for high-resolution superlensing applications. A flat lens for
surface acoustic waves has also been designed. It demonstrates the focusing of an
acoustic source into an image on the other side of the finite-size structure with
an image resolution of (λ/4), which overcomes the Rayleigh diffraction limit.
The numerical simulations are based on the efficient finite element method and
analyze pillars and the substrate of lithium niobate.