Coupled slow waves, slow acoustic waves, and electromagnetic waves are simultaneously achieved based on a piezoelectric material, in which a line defect is created within a honeycomb lattice array of cylindrical holes etched in a LiNbO3 slab. Finite element simulations in frequency domain and time domain demonstrate that a highly localized slow mode is obtained in the defect. Owing to the piezoelectricity of LiNbO3, acoustic and electromagnetic waves are coupled with each other and transmit along the line defect. Therefore, in addition to a slow acoustic wave, an electromagnetic wave with a group velocity even lower than conventional acoustic waves is achieved.

With the advance of the research on acoustic metamaterials, the limits of passive metamaterials have been observed, which prompts the studies concerning actively tunable metamaterials with adjustable characteristic frequency bands. In this work, we present a tunable acoustic metamaterial with double-negativity composed of periodical membranes and side holes, in which the double-negativity pass band can be controlled by an external direct-current voltage. The tension and stiffness of the periodically arranged membranes are actively controlled by electromagnets producing additional stresses, and thus, the transmission and phase velocity of the metamaterial can be adjusted by the driving voltage of the electromagnets. It is demonstrated that a tiny direct-current voltage of 6V can arise a shift of double-negativity pass band by 40% bandwidth, which exhibits that it is an easily controlled and highly tunable acoustic metamaterial, and furthermore, the metamaterial marginally causes electromagnetic interference to the surroundings.

An acoustic metamaterial is designed based on a simple and compact structure of one string of side pipes arranged along a waveguide, in which diverse group velocities are achieved. Owing to Fabry-Perot resonance of the side pipes, a negative phase time is achieved, and thus, acoustic waves transmitting with negative group velocities are produced near the resonant frequency. In addition, both fast and slow acoustic waves are also observed in the vicinity of the resonance frequency. The extraordinary group velocities can be explained based on spectral rephasing induced by anomalous dispersion on the analogy of Lorentz dispersion in electromagnetic waves.

To block sound, i.e., the vibration of air, most insulators are based on sealed structures and prevent the flow of the air. In this research, an acoustic metamaterial adopting side structures, loops, and labyrinths, arranged along a main tube, is presented. By combining the accurately designed side structures, an extremely wide forbidden band with a low cut-off frequency of 80 Hz is produced, which demonstrates a powerful low-frequency and wide-band sound insulation ability. Moreover, by virtue of the bypass arrangement, the metamaterial is based on an open structure, and thus air flow is allowed while acoustic waves can be insulated. (C) 2015 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

A model of thermoacoustic refrigerator on the basis of an acoustic metamaterial is presented, in which an array of side pipes is adopted to suppress harmonic waves in the thermoacoustic resonator. The array of side pipes traps the acoustic waves with Fabry-Perot resonant frequencies and induces narrow forbidden bands of transmission. When the resonant frequency of the thermoacoustic refrigerator is chosen as the operating frequency, the harmonic wave can be exactly located in the forbidden band by properly adapting the structural parameters of the system. Therefore, the component of the harmonic wave in the thermoacoustic resonator can be efficiently suppressed.

Insulating against low-frequency sound (below 500 Hz) remains challenging despite the progress that has been achieved in sound insulation and absorption. In this work, an acoustic metamaterial based on membrane-coated perforated plates is presented for achieving sound insulation in a low-frequency range, even covering the lower audio frequency limit, 20 Hz. Theoretical analysis and finite element simulations demonstrate that this metamaterial can effectively block acoustic waves over a wide low-frequency band regardless of incident angles. Two mechanisms, non-resonance and monopolar resonance, operate in the metamaterial, resulting in a more powerful sound insulation ability than that achieved using periodically arranged multi-layer solid plates.