Microfluidics and Nanophotonics:

Science and Engineering 2

Hong-Xiang Sun
Yong Ge
Shou-Qi Yuan

Acoustic
Metamaterials
Asymmetric Transmission, Focusing, and
Asymmetric Focusing
Microfluidics and Nanophotonics: Science
and Engineering

Volume 2

Advisory Editors
Ai Qun Liu, Institute of Quantum Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic
University, Hong Kong, China
Din Ping Tsai, Department of Electrical Engineering, City University of Hong
Kong, Hong Kong, China

Series Editors
Lip Ket Chin, Department of Electrical Engineering, City University of Hong
Kong, Hong Kong, China
Yi Zhang, School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, University of
Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Weiming Zhu, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of
Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
This Springer book series focuses on the science and engineering of nanopho-
tonics and miniaturized systems. It covers topics such as metamaterials, metasur-
faces, biophotonics, microfluidics, Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and
nano/microdevices. The series explores the translation of scientific breakthroughs in
nanophotonics, metamaterials, and microfluidics into practical engineering applica-
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applications. More specifically, it includes the following themes:
• Metamaterials and Metasurfaces
• Nanoplasmonic Biosensing
• Biomedical Devices and Instrumentation
• Microsystems and MEMS
• Nanophotonics in Quantum Engineering
Hong-Xiang Sun · Yong Ge · Shou-Qi Yuan

Acoustic Metamaterials
Asymmetric Transmission, Focusing,
and Asymmetric Focusing
Hong-Xiang Sun Yong Ge
School of Physics and Electronic School of Physics and Electronic
Engineering Engineering
Research Center of Fluid Machinery Research Center of Fluid Machinery
Engineering and Technology Engineering and Technology
Jiangsu University Jiangsu University
Zhenjiang, China Zhenjiang, China

Shou-Qi Yuan
Research Center of Fluid Machinery
Engineering and Technology
Jiangsu University
Zhenjiang, China

ISSN 2730-9029 ISSN 2730-9037 (electronic)

Microfluidics and Nanophotonics: Science and Engineering
ISBN 978-981-96-8523-3 ISBN 978-981-96-8524-0 (eBook)
[Link]

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under
Grant No. 2020YFC1512403, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants No.
12274183, and No. 12174159.

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Preface I

As the former president of Jiangsu University, it is with immense pride and enthu-
siasm that I introduce this significant contribution to the field of acoustic metamate-
rials. The book, Acoustic Metamaterials—Asymmetric Transmission, Focusing, and
Asymmetric Focusing, represents a remarkable achievement in the ongoing explo-
ration of materials with unique acoustic properties. Over the past two decades, the
field has grown exponentially, offering new possibilities for wave control, energy
focusing, and signal processing. This book stands as a testament to the innova-
tive spirit and technical expertise that drive advancements in modern physics and
engineering.
Our group at Jiangsu University has been at the forefront of research in acoustic
metamaterials, and our work has not only advanced the fundamental understanding
of acoustic wave phenomena but also opened new avenues for practical applications.
Our investigations into asymmetric transmission, acoustic focusing, and asymmetric
focusing have the potential to revolutionize fields such as medical ultrasound, noise
control, architectural acoustics, and acoustic communication. By consolidating our
research in this volume, we provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of the
fundamental principles, design methods, and experimental results that underpin these
exciting developments.
During my tenure at Jiangsu University, I had the privilege of leading a dedicated
team of scholars who have made significant contributions to the field of acoustic
metamaterials. Our ability to bridge theoretical insights with experimental validation
has been a hallmark of our work, and our commitment to pushing the boundaries of
knowledge is truly commendable. This book reflects our deep understanding of the
subject and desire to share our insights with the broader scientific community.
For students, researchers, and practitioners in acoustics and metamaterials, this
book serves as an invaluable resource. It not only elucidates complex phenomena but
also highlights the practical potential of acoustic metamaterials in addressing real-
world challenges. Our emphasis on asymmetric wave manipulation and focusing is
particularly relevant, as these concepts hold great promise for advancing technologies
in areas such as ultrasonic therapy, sonar detection, acoustic sensing, etc.

v
vi Preface I

I am confident that this book will become a key reference in the study of acoustic
metamaterials, inspiring further research and innovation in the field. It is with great
admiration that I recommend this work to readers, and I look forward to its impact
on the scientific community and beyond.

Zhenjiang, China Prof. Dr. Shou-Qi Yuan

February 2025
Preface II

The realm of acoustics has long been a cornerstone of human civilization, enabling
communication, exploration, and the appreciation of the arts. From the harmonious
melodies of music to the clarity of spoken language, and from the precision of
ultrasonic imaging to the reach of sonar detection, acoustic waves permeate and
enrich our modern existence. Yet, traditional materials have offered limited control
over these waves, constraining the potential for innovation in acoustic applications.
The advent of acoustic metamaterials has emerged as a transformative solution,
providing unprecedented manipulation of acoustic waves and heralding a new era in
acoustic technology.
Acoustic metamaterials are artificially structured composites with subwavelength
dimensions, whose acoustic properties are determined not by the intrinsic charac-
teristics of their constituent materials, but by the design of their structural units.
Through meticulous engineering of these units and their configurations, acoustic
metamaterials can precisely control the propagation of sound, transcending the limi-
tations of conventional materials and enabling a variety of novel phenomena and
functionalities.
In recent years, the field of acoustic metamaterials has witnessed remarkable
advancements, yielding a wealth of groundbreaking research. Among these, three
key research areas have attracted significant attention and demonstrated immense
potential for practical applications: acoustic asymmetric transmission, acoustic
focusing, and acoustic asymmetric focusing.
Acoustic asymmetric transmission challenges the conventional reciprocity of
sound propagation in acoustic systems, enabling acoustic waves to travel asymmetri-
cally in opposite directions. This characteristic, akin to an electronic diode, facilitates
acoustic one-way transmission and holds promise for applications in acoustic diodes
and isolators. For instance, leveraging asymmetric transmission can lead to the devel-
opment of efficient, compact acoustic isolators that effectively mitigate reflections
and crosstalk in acoustic systems, thereby enhancing their performance and stability.
Acoustic focusing aims to concentrate sound energy within a specific
region, surpassing the diffraction limits of traditional acoustic lenses and
achieving subwavelength-scale sound manipulation. Conventional acoustic lenses

vii
viii Preface II

are constrained by diffraction limits, which hinder high-resolution acoustic focusing.

Acoustic metamaterials, however, can precisely modulate acoustic wavefronts
through specially designed unit cells, overcoming diffraction limits and enabling
subwavelength focusing of sound. This breakthrough has revolutionized fields such as
high-resolution acoustic imaging and precise acoustic therapy. For example, acoustic
metamaterial lenses can facilitate ultra-high-resolution ultrasonic imaging of human
tissues, providing a more accurate foundation for early disease diagnosis.
Acoustic asymmetric focusing combines the advantages of asymmetric trans-
mission and focusing, enhancing acoustic wave concentration in a particular direc-
tion while suppressing propagation in the opposite direction. This property holds
potential for applications in directional acoustic communication and high-intensity
focused ultrasound therapy. For instance, asymmetric focusing can be utilized
to construct directional acoustic antennas for long-distance, high-fidelity acoustic
communication. It can also address challenges in focused ultrasound therapy, such
as the damaging effects of high-intensity reflected sound waves on transducers
and surrounding healthy tissues, thereby reducing treatment costs and improving
accuracy.
Regarding the research background, with the support of the National Key Research
and Development Program of China under Grant No. 2020YFC1512403, and the
National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 12274183 and
12174159, our group has summarized and organized its work over the past decade on
acoustic asymmetric transmission, acoustic focusing, acoustic asymmetric focusing,
and related applications based on acoustic metamaterials. Mature research findings
have been carefully selected, and the latest advancements in the field have been
incorporated to compile this book. It is intended to serve as a reference for profes-
sionals in physics, acoustics, medical ultrasound, non-destructive testing, and power
mechanical engineering.
The book is organized into ten chapters. Chapter 1, Introduction, provides an
overview of the fundamental concepts, historical development, current research
hotspots, and future trajectories of acoustic metamaterials and their key branches.
Chapter 2, Basic Theory, introduces a series of fundamental principles and methods
for sound manipulation in 2D and 3D spaces based on acoustic metamaterials,
including the interference theory, effective medium theory, finite element method,
generalized Snell’s law, mode conversion theory, and band theory of sonic crystals.
Chapters 3 and 4, Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission, present several AAT systems
designed with underwater plate-like metamaterials and airborne metamaterials, and
discuss their potential applications in architectural acoustics, noise control, and
medical ultrasound in detail. Chapters 5–7, Acoustic Focusing, showcase a series of
AF lenses designed with ring-shaped metamaterials, phase-controlled metamaterials,
and thermoacoustic phase-controlled metamaterials, exploring their applications in
underwater signal detection, medical ultrasound therapy, acoustic communication,
and acoustic energy harvesting. Chapter 8, Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing, demon-
strates a variety of AAF lenses designed with asymmetric modulation metamaterials
and discusses their potential applications in focused ultrasound therapy and medical
Preface II ix

ultrasound imaging. Chapter 9, Three-Dimensional Acoustic Focusing and Asym-

metric Focusing, presents several types of 2D acoustic lenses designed with phase-
controlled metamaterials. These 2D lenses can simultaneously achieve a combination
of focusing and other effects in 3D space, promoting their practical applications in
non-contact manipulation for trapping particles, medical ultrasound imaging and
treatment. Chapter 10, Conclusions, Challenges, and Future Prospects, summa-
rizes key findings in acoustic metamaterials, covering AAT, AF, and AAF systems. It
highlights advancements in sound manipulation, identifies challenges, and outlines
future research directions, including broadband devices, 3D wavefront control, and
machine learning.
During the process of conducting relevant research and writing this book, we
benefited from the guidance and assistance of several respected individuals, including
Prof. Shu-yi Zhang, Prof. Xiao-jun Liu, Prof. Yun Lai, and Prof. Xiaozhou Liu from
Nanjing University; Prof. Baile Zhang from Nanyang Technological University; Prof.
Zhengyou Liu from Wuhan University; Prof. Menglu Qian and Associate Prof. Zheng
Xu from Tongji University; Assistant Prof. Haoran Xue from the Chinese University
of Hong Kong; Prof. Yihao Yang from Zhejiang University; Associate Prof. Yi-jun
Guan, Dr. Ding Jia, and Prof. Qiao-rui Si from Jiangsu University. We are also grateful
for the contributions of Ph.D. student Yin Wang; postgraduate students Jian-ping Xia,
Jiao Qian, and Hong-yu Zou; and undergraduate students Chen Liu, Yu-lei Huang,
Wen-ting Gao, Jia-he Chen, An-ru Hou, Tian-chi Zhang, Jia-li Yin, and others who
participated in various aspects of this work. We would like to express our deepest
gratitude to all of them.
The author has strived to maintain a serious and rigorous approach in writing this
book. However, we acknowledge that there may still be shortcomings. We warmly
welcome readers’ feedback, criticisms, and corrections. Together, may we contribute
our modest efforts to advancing the field of acoustic metamaterials, particularly in
the areas of asymmetric transmission, focusing, and asymmetric focusing.

Zhenjiang, China Hong-Xiang Sun

Yong Ge
Shou-Qi Yuan
Competing Interests The authors have no competing interests to declare that are
relevant to the content of this manuscript.

xi
Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Acoustic Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Acoustic Metasurfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 Acoustic One-Way Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4 Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.5 Acoustic Focusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.6 Overview of Main Research in This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2 Basic Theory of Sound Manipulation Based on Acoustic
Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2 Interference Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.3 Effective Medium Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.4 Finite Element Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.5 Generalized Snell’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.5.1 1D Generalized Snell’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
2.5.2 2D Generalized Snell’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.6 Mode Conversion Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.6.1 Mode Conversion Between Zero-Order
and First-Order Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.6.2 Mode Conversion Between Zero-Order
and High-Order Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.7 Band Theory of Sonic Crystal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.7.1 Concept of SC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.7.2 Lattice Periodicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.7.3 Brillouin Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.7.4 Calculation of Band Structure of SC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

xiii
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3 Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission by Underwater Plate-Like

Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.2 Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission by a Metal Plate
with Single-Sided Periodic Gratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.2.1 Design and Performance of AAT System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.2.2 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.2.3 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.3 Enhanced Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission
by Multi-Layer Metal Plates with Single-Sided Periodic
Gratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.3.1 Design and Performance of Enhanced AAT System . . . . . 62
3.3.2 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.3.3 Performance Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.4 Performance Modulation of Acoustic Asymmetric
Transmission by a Metal Plate with Single-Sided Periodic
Gratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.4.1 Design of AAT System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.4.2 Performance of AAT System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
3.4.3 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.4.4 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.5 Multi-Band Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission
by Dual-Layer Metal Plates with Two-Sided Gratings . . . . . . . . . 78
3.5.1 Design and Performance of Multi-band AAT System . . . . 78
3.5.2 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.5.3 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.6 Ultra-Broadband Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission
by a Metal Plate with a Right Triangle Reflector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.6.1 Design and Performance of Ultra-Broadband AAT
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.6.2 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.6.3 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.6.4 Performance Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.6.5 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
3.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4 Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission by Airborne
Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.2 Broadband Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission by Open
Tunnel and Window Structures with Ultrathin Metasurfaces . . . . 96
4.2.1 Design and Performance of AMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.2.2 Design and Performance of AAT Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.2.3 Physical Mechanism of AAT Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Contents xv

4.2.4
Experimental Measurement of AAT Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
4.2.5
Design and Performance of AAT Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.2.6
Experimental Measurement of AAT Window . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.2.7
Performance Optimization of AAT Tunnel
and Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
4.3 Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission by an Open Tunnel
with Two Pairs of Triangle Cavities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.3.1 Design and Performance of AAT Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.3.2 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
4.3.3 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.3.4 Robustness Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.4 Multi-Channel Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission
by Mode-Conversion Meta-Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.4.1 Design and Performance of Mode-Conversion
Meta-Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.4.2 Design and Performance of AAT Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
4.4.3 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.4.4 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.5 Tunable Acoustic Asymmetric Transmission
by Phase-Controlled Prism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.5.1 Design and Performance of AAT Prism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
4.5.2 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.5.3 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
4.5.4 Design and Performance of Reversed AAT Prism . . . . . . . 139
4.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5 Acoustic Focusing in Ring-Shaped Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
5.2 Acoustic Focusing in Metal Ring-Shaped Structures . . . . . . . . . . . 146
5.2.1 Design and Performance of AF System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
5.2.2 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
5.2.3 Potential Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
5.3 Multi-focus Acoustic Focusing in Metal Ring-Shaped
Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
5.3.1 Design and Performance of Multi-focus AF System . . . . . 152
5.3.2 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5.3.3 Potential Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
5.4 Acoustic Focusing in Dual-Layer Ring-Shaped Structures . . . . . . 158
5.4.1 Design and Performance of Dual-Layer AF System . . . . . 158
5.4.2 Equivalent Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.4.3 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
5.4.4 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
5.4.5 Potential Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
xvi Contents

5.5 Acoustic Focusing in Ring-Shaped Mie Resonance-Based

Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.5.1 Design and Performance of Multiple-Cavity Unit
Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.5.2 Design and Performance of AF System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
5.5.3 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
5.5.4 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.5.5 Robustness Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
5.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
6 Acoustic Focusing by Phase-Controlled Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
6.2 Acoustic Focusing by Cavity Meta-Atoms with Phase
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
6.2.1 Design and Performance of Cavity Meta-Atom . . . . . . . . . 184
6.2.2 Design and Performance of Phased Unit Cell . . . . . . . . . . 185
6.2.3 Design and Performance of AF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
6.2.4 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
6.2.5 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
6.2.6 Design and Performance of Binary-Phase AF Lens . . . . . 193
6.2.7 Design and Performance of Reflected AF Lens . . . . . . . . . 196
6.3 Ultra-Broadband Acoustic Focusing by V-Shaped
Meta-Atoms with Phase Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
6.3.1 Design and Performance of V-Shaped Meta-Atom . . . . . . 199
6.3.2 Design and Performance of Phased Unit Cell . . . . . . . . . . 200
6.3.3 Design and Performance of Ultra-Broadband AF
Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
6.3.4 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
6.3.5 Design and Performance of Binary-Phase AF Lens . . . . . 208
6.4 Flexible Acoustic Focusing by Metafiber Bundles
with Phase Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
6.4.1 Design and Performance of Acoustic Metafiber . . . . . . . . 212
6.4.2 Design and Performance of AF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
6.4.3 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
6.4.4 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
6.4.5 Design and Performance of AF Lens for Cylindrical
Sound Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
6.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Contents xvii

7 Acoustic Focusing by Thermoacoustic Phase-Controlled

Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
7.2 Self-Healing Acoustic Focusing by Thermoacoustic
Phased Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
7.2.1 Design and Performance of Thermoacoustic Phased
Unit Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
7.2.2 Design and Performance of Self-Healing AF Lens . . . . . . 229
7.2.3 Demonstration of Self-Healing Characteristic . . . . . . . . . . 232
7.2.4 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
7.2.5 Feasibility Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
7.2.6 Design and Performance of Reflected Phased Unit
Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
7.2.7 Design and Performance of Reflected Self-Healing
AF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
7.3 Long-Focus Acoustic Focusing by Thermoacoustic Phased
Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
7.3.1 Design and Performance of Long-Focus AF Lens . . . . . . . 242
7.3.2 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
7.3.3 Feasibility Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
7.3.4 Design and Performance of Long-Focus AF Lens
for Cylindrical Sound Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
7.4 Reflected Long-Focus Acoustic Focusing
by Thermoacoustic Phased Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
7.4.1 Design and Performance of Reflected Long-Focus
AF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
7.4.2 Parameter Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
7.4.3 Robustness Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
7.4.4 Design and Performance of Reflected Long-Focus
AF Lens for Cylindrical Sound Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
7.5 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
8 Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing by Asymmetric Modulation
Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
8.2 Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing by Dual-Layer
Metasurfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
8.2.1 Design and Performance of AAF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
8.2.2 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
8.2.3 Design and Performance of Underwater AAF Lens . . . . . 276
8.3 Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing by Mode-Conversion
Meta-Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
8.3.1 Design and Performance of Mode-Conversion
Meta-Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
xviii Contents

8.3.2 Design and Performance of AAF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

8.3.3 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
8.3.4 Design and Performance of Underwater AAF Lens . . . . . 291
8.4 Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing by a Metal Plate
with Binary Wave-Path Slits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
8.4.1 Design and Performance of AAF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
8.4.2 Experimental Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
8.4.3 Physical Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
8.5 Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing by Phase-Controlled Prism . . . . . 306
8.6 Long-Focus Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing by Dual-Layer
Thermoacoustic Phased Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
8.7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
9 Three-Dimensional Acoustic Focusing and Asymmetric
Focusing by Phase-Controlled Metamaterials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
9.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
9.2 Three-Dimensional Acoustic Focusing by Reflected
Metasurfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
9.2.1 Design and Performance of Phased Unit Cell . . . . . . . . . . 318
9.2.2 Design and Performance of Reflected Point AF Lens . . . . 319
9.2.3 Design and Performance of Reflected Line AF Lens . . . . 323
9.2.4 Design and Performance of Reflected Long-Focus
AF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
9.3 Three-Dimensional Long-Focus Acoustic Vortex Focusing
by Reflected Metasurfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
9.3.1 Design and Performance of Phased Unit Cell . . . . . . . . . . 329
9.3.2 Design and Performance of Reflected Long-Focus
AVF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
9.3.3 Design and Performance of Reflected Long-Focus
AVF Lens with n = 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
9.3.4 Design and Performance of Underwater Reflected
Long-Focus AVF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
9.4 Three-Dimensional Acoustic Asymmetric Focusing
by Mode-Conversion Meta-Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
9.4.1 Design and Performance of Phased Unit Cell . . . . . . . . . . 340
9.4.2 Design and Performance of Mode-Conversion
Meta-Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
9.4.3 Design and Performance of AAF Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
9.4.4 Performance Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
9.5 Three-Dimensional Acoustic Asymmetric Vortex Focusing
by Mode-Conversion Meta-Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
9.5.1 Design and Performance of Mode-Conversion
Meta-Atom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
9.5.2 Design and Performance of AAVF Lens with n = 2 . . . . . 357
Contents xix

9.5.3 Design and Performance of AAVF Lenses with

n = 1 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
9.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
10 Conclusions, Challenges, and Future Prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
10.1 Summary of Key Findings and Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
10.2 Future Research Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
10.3 Conclusion and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Abbreviations

1D One-dimensional
2D Two-dimensional
3D Three-dimensional
AAF Acoustic asymmetric focusing
AAT Acoustic asymmetric transmission
AAVF Acoustic asymmetric vortex focusing
ABR Acoustic blind region
AF Acoustic focusing
AM Acoustic metasurface
AOT Acoustic one-way transmission
AVF Acoustic vortex focusing
BI Bottom incidence
DDB Downward deflected branch
EM Effective medium
FE Finite element
FLHM Full length at half maximum
HIFU High-intensity focused ultrasound
ICCD Intensification charge-coupled device
Im Imaginary part
LI Left incidence
MB Middle branch
ME Measured
MMR Monopole Mie resonance
PP Plane plate
Re Real part
RI Right incidence
SC Sonic crystal
SI Simulated
TI Top incidence

xxi
xxii Abbreviations

TPA Thermoacoustic phased array

UDB Upward deflected branch
WS Wigner-Seitz
Chapter 1
Introduction

1.1 Acoustic Metamaterials

Acoustic wave is a type of common energy and information carrier in nature, and
the realization of sound manipulation has always been widely studied due to its
application prospects in medical ultrasound, information processing, and architec-
tural acoustics, etc. However, the realization of accurate control of sound still poses a
great challenge. In recent years, the emergence and development of acoustic metama-
terials have provided feasibility for achieving sound manipulation with high perfor-
mance [1]. Generally, the acoustic metamaterials consist of periodically arranged
subwavelength artificial structures, and can realize special characteristics that natural
materials do not possess.
By analogizing the equivalent mass density (ρ) and the reciprocal bulk modulus (1/
κ) of acoustic materials with the dielectric constant (ε) and the magnetic permeability
(μ) of electromagnetic materials [2], respectively, a theoretical basis is established
for designing various acoustic metamaterials with negative equivalent parameters. In
2000, Liu et al. proposed a type of acoustic metamaterial based on a localized resonant
sonic crystal (SC) with a cubic lattice [3]. As shown in Fig. 1.1a, a basic unit cell
of the SC consists of a shot wrapped in a layer of silicone rubber material, which is
then embedded in a cubic epoxy resin matrix. The SC is achieved by periodically
arranging the basic unit cells (Fig. 1.1b) and exhibits a localized resonance mode,
resulting in a bandgap in the low-frequency region. The frequency of this bandgap
is much lower than that of Bragg scattering SCs (Fig. 1.1c) and appears as a trough
in the pressure amplitude spectrum (Fig. 1.1d). To better understand the bandgap of
the SC, the basic unit cell can be modeled as a spring-damped resonant system [4],
where the outer layer of silicone rubber material is simplified as a spring connecting
the matrix and the shot (Fig. 1.1e). When an external excitation (F) is applied to the
matrix within the bandgap, the motion of both the matrix and the shot becomes out of
phase. According to Newton’s second law, the ratio of F to the system’s acceleration

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025 1
H. Sun et al., Acoustic Metamaterials, Microfluidics and Nanophotonics: Science and
Engineering 2, [Link]
2 1 Introduction

Fig. 1.1 Photographs of a a basic unit cell and b a type of localized resonant SC. c Calculated
band structure of the SC. d Calculated and measured transmission spectra of the SC. e Schematic
of a spring-damped resonant system for the basic unit cell

(a) changes, indicating a change in the equivalent mass density (ρeff ). Notably, when
the directions of F and a are opposite, the real part of ρeff becomes negative.
In addition to the development of acoustic metamaterials with negative mass
density [3–7], those with negative elastic modulus have also been designed subse-
quently [8, 9]. As shown in Fig. 1.2a, b, Fang et al. designed a one-dimensional
(1D) array of Helmholtz resonators filled with fluid [8]. When an acoustic wave is
incident on the structure, the acoustic pressure inside the channel changes, causing
the fluid in the resonant cavities to oscillate back and forth, leading to expansion and
compression. It is noteworthy that when the frequency of the acoustic wave sweeps
through the resonance frequency of the structure (33 kHz in Fig. 1.2c), the process
of fluid expansion and compression inside the structure is in opposite phase with the
incident wave, indicating a negative bulk elastic modulus response.
Furthermore, by coupling negative equivalent mass density and elastic modulus,
double-negative metamaterials at specific frequencies can be achieved. In 2004, Li
et al. designed a type of Mie-resonance structure made of silicone rubber material
in water [10], where the sound velocity of the resonator is much lower than that of
water. The results show that the resonator can achieve double-negative equivalent
1.1 Acoustic Metamaterials 3

Fig. 1.2 a Schematic of a Helmholtz resonator and b a 1D array of Helmholtz resonators. c Real
and imaginary parts of the bulk elastic modulus spectrum

parameters, which are closely related to its low-frequency resonance modes. Specif-
ically, the negative bulk elastic modulus is determined by the monopole mode of the
resonator, while the negative mass density is related to the dipole mode. At a certain
frequency, both monopole and dipole modes exist simultaneously, and the resonator
can be equivalent to a double-negative equivalent parameter material, meaning both
the equivalent elastic modulus and mass density are negative, thereby realizing an
acoustic negative refractive index material.
In experimental studies, Fok et al. observed negative refraction of sound in an
acoustic system composed of a Helmholtz resonator with a monopole resonance
mode and a spring resonator with a dipole resonance mode [11]. In 2015, Cheng
et al. designed a type of Mie resonator with low equivalent sound velocity and high
refractive index based on a coiling-up space structure [12]. The sample photograph
and cross-section are shown in Fig. 1.3a, b, respectively. As a type of double-negative
metamaterial, there are two frequency bands for both negative equivalent parame-
ters: one corresponding to the negative bulk modulus caused by the monopole Mie
resonant mode (the light blue region in Fig. 1.3c), and the other corresponding to the
negative mass density supported by the dipole Mie resonance (the light blue region
in Fig. 1.3d).
Another milestone in acoustic metamaterials is the development of coiling-up
space structures [13–16]. In 2012, Liang et al. designed an acoustic metamaterial
with a high refractive index and near-zero mass density, referred to as a coiling-up
space structure [13]. As shown in Fig. 1.4a, the acoustic wave propagates along a
narrow zigzag path within the structure, resulting in a total propagation distance
much longer than the physical size of the structure. This enables the manipulation of
the refractive index and phase delay of sound. By tuning the length of the zigzag path,
the phase and group velocities of the coiling-up space structure can be modulated,
altering the equivalent refractive index and dispersion relationship. Consequently,
various sound effects, such as negative refraction and tunneling, can be achieved.
As shown in Fig. 1.4b, by stacking coiling-up space structures in a triangular shape,
an acoustic prism with negative mass density and negative bulk modulus can be
realized. When an acoustic wave is incident from the bottom side of the prism,
the sound energy can transmit horizontally through the oblique edge of the prism,
4 1 Introduction

Fig. 1.3 a Photograph of the sample and b schematic of the cross-section of a Mie resonator.
Measured and simulated c bulk modulus and d mass density spectra of the Mie resonator

demonstrating negative refraction. Additionally, by tuning the path length of the

coiling-up space structure, the equivalent mass density of the structure approaches
zero in the low-frequency region, enabling tunneling effects. Furthermore, as shown
in Fig. 1.4c, when an acoustic wave is incident from the left side of a waveguide, the
sound energy is severely scattered by a wall. However, by surrounding the wall with
a density-near-zero metamaterial, the incident acoustic wave can enter the narrow
channel of the coiling-up space structure and transmit through the wall with high
efficiency and a constant waveform.
Later, the coiling-up space structure was widely used in the design of metamate-
rials and metasurfaces [17–25]. By tuning the propagation distance within the unit
cell, a phase delay of sound across the full 2π range can be achieved. Based on the
generalized Snell’s law [26], acoustic metasurfaces (AMs) composed of a series of
phased unit cells with different parameters can be designed to achieve precise sound
manipulation, enabling various effects such as focusing [17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 27–29],
self-bending beams [30–33], and invisibility [34–36].
Despite the rapid development of acoustic metamaterials in recent years, most
works have focused on linear, passive, and static structures. To further broaden
1.1 Acoustic Metamaterials 5

Fig. 1.4 a Schematic of a coiling-up space structure. b Simulated pressure distribution of acoustic
negative refraction caused by an acoustic prism composed of coiling-up space structures. c Simulated
pressure distributions of acoustic tunneling through a waveguide without and with the density-near-
zero metamaterial

their applicability, active acoustic metamaterials composed of piezoelectric mate-

rials, speakers, fans, and other components have been designed [37–44]. Compared
to passive acoustic metamaterials, active ones offer advantages such as reconfigura-
bility, real-time control, and sound energy gain.
In 2014, Fleury et al. achieved non-reciprocal sound transmission by introducing
a rotating airflow in a three-port acoustic circulator [38]. Figure 1.5a schematically
6 1 Introduction

Fig. 1.5 a Photograph of a three-port acoustic circulator. The top inset shows the circulator without
the cover. b Measured transmission spectra at ports 2 and 3 with the incident wave at port 1

shows the circulator structure, in which three actively controlled fans with rotational
symmetry are installed in the annular channel. When the fans are turned off, two
degenerate resonant modes with opposite propagation directions exist in the circu-
lator. When the fans are turned on, a rotating airflow is introduced, causing a split in
the resonant frequency. In this case, when an acoustic wave is incident from port 1,
the two modes interfere destructively at port 2 and constructively at port 3, resulting
in most of the sound energy being emitted from port 3 (Fig. 1.5 b). Conversely,
when the acoustic wave is incident from port 3, most of the energy is emitted from
port 2, with almost no transmission at port 1. Thus, the designed acoustic circulator
with rotating airflow breaks the inherent reciprocity of sound propagation in natural
materials, achieving non-reciprocal sound transmission.
In addition to rotating airflow, acoustic amplification circuits have been used
to design metamaterial structures [45–52]. Zhang et al. utilized an acoustic unidi-
rectional amplifier to achieve non-reciprocal coupling between two resonant cavi-
ties [45]. As shown in Fig. 1.6a, two identical acoustic resonators (labeled “1” and
“2”) are connected by two waveguides, providing reciprocal coupling between the
resonators. To introduce non-reciprocal coupling, an acoustic amplification circuit,
including an acoustic unidirectional amplifier, a loudspeaker, and a microphone,
is externally connected to the two resonant cavities. When an acoustic wave is
incident from resonator 1, the forward transmitted pressure spectrum |s12 | can be
detected in resonator 2. Similarly, the pressure spectrum |s21 | can be obtained in
resonator 1 when the acoustic wave is incident from resonator 2. Figure 1.6b shows
the experimentally measured and theoretically fitted results of |s12 | and |s21 | for the
acoustic system without and with the amplifier, respectively. Without the amplifier,
both spectra |s12 | and |s21 | are nearly identical, with two resonance peaks due to recip-
rocal coupling. However, when the unidirectional amplifier is introduced, |s12 | > |s21 |,
and the maximum |s12 | exceeds 1, with resonance frequencies differing from those
without the amplifier, demonstrating non-reciprocal coupling.
1.2 Acoustic Metasurfaces 7

Fig. 1.6 a Photograph of two acoustic resonators connected by a pair of cross-linked narrow waveg-
uides and a unidirectional amplifier. b Measured and fitted transmission spectra of acoustic systems
without and with the unidirectional amplifier

1.2 Acoustic Metasurfaces

AMs are characterized by their planar structure, subwavelength thickness, and high-
performance sound manipulation capabilities [53–59], falling within the scope of
acoustic metamaterials. Generally, AMs are composed of a series of ultrathin unit
cells. By tuning structural parameters of these unit cells, a phase delay of sound
across the full 2π range can be achieved. This allows for arbitrary shaping of acoustic
wavefronts under the theoretical framework of the generalized Snell’s law. Based
on this characteristic, AMs can be applied to the design of various phased control
devices with exotic phenomena, including arbitrary sound reflection and transmis-
sion, focusing, invisibility, and absorption. These applications have broad prospects
in fields such as medical ultrasound, architectural acoustics, nondestructive testing,
and noise reduction, and they also provide new pathways for the development of
acoustic materials and technologies. In recent years, with the rapid development of
AMs, a variety of metasurface structures with diverse functions have been proposed,
constructed using different types of unit cells, including coiling-up space structures
[18–25, 60–63], Helmholtz resonators [31, 64–67], and groove structures [68–70],
among others.
AMs based on coiling-up space structures with subwavelength dimensions force
acoustic waves to propagate along curled channels (zigzags, labyrinths, and spirals),
which are significantly longer than the actual physical dimension of the structure.
The extended propagation distance enables the manipulation of reflected waves and
allows the reflected phase delay to be tailored across the full 2π range. As shown
in Fig. 1.7a, a reflection-type unit cell consists of a zigzag structure with a sound-
hard boundary on the left side [18, 20]. By adjusting the width of the unit cell,
8 1 Introduction

Fig. 1.7 Schematic of three types of metasurface unit cells composed of a the zigzag structure,
b labyrinthine structure, and c V-shaped structure. d–f Simulated pressure distributions caused by
the unit cells with different structural parameters in (a–c), demonstrating phase delays of sound
covering the full 2π range

the propagation distance of sound can be precisely controlled, achieving a reflected

phase delay across the full 2π range for unit cells of the same thickness (Fig. 1.7d).
In addition to reflection-type unit cells, transmission-type metasurface unit cells
can also be designed using other coiled structures without sound-hard boundaries,
such as labyrinthine [19] and V-shaped structures [71] (Fig. 1.7b, c). By tuning the
coiled length of the labyrinthine structure and the number of V-shaped structures, the
transmitted phase delay of sound can be adjusted across the 2π range, as shown in
Fig. 1.7e, f, respectively. However, these coiling-up space structures must be carefully
designed to minimize viscous loss and ensure optimal impedance matching.
Coiled AMs can also be used to design low-frequency, ultrathin, near-perfect
sound absorbers [72–76]. As shown in Fig. 1.8a, b, both metasurface unit cells
consist of a centered perforated plate and a spiral coplanar air chamber [72, 73].
Sound energy is absorbed into the spiral chamber due to the resonant states of the
structure and near-perfect impedance matching with the external air. The absorbed
sound energy propagates through the coiled channel, increasing the total propagation
distance of the sound, which results in low velocity and a high refractive index. This
phenomenon promotes the dissipation of sound energy through conversion into heat,
as shown in Fig. 1.8c, d. Importantly, the total thicknesses of both metasurfaces are
as small as λ/50 and λ/223, respectively.
To simultaneously achieve a high refractive index and high transmission,
a transmission-type metasurface unit cell can be constructed using Helmholtz
1.2 Acoustic Metasurfaces 9

Fig. 1.8 a, b Schematic of two types of metasurface unit cells composed of a centred perforated
plate and a spiral coplanar air chamber. c Simulated absorption coefficients caused by the unit cells
with different values of panel porosity and tube radius in (a). d Simulated absorption spectra caused
by the unit cells with different values of d in (b)

resonators for flexible phase control and a straight channel to introduce hybrid reso-
nances that compensate for impedance mismatch. The corresponding metasurface
unit cells (Fig. 1.9a–c) can achieve tunable phase velocity and near-perfect trans-
mission efficiency [31, 64, 65]. Additionally, the subwavelength width of the unit
cell enables fine spatial resolution of phase distributions. Similar to coiling-up space
structures, by simultaneously tuning the heights of the Helmholtz resonators and the
straight channel, the metasurface unit cells can achieve phase delays across the full
2π range and maintain high transmission, as shown in Fig. 1.9d–f, respectively. These
metasurface unit cells can be used to design acoustic lenses with functionalities such
as focusing, asymmetric focusing, and vortex generation.
Given the resonant characteristics of coiling-up space structures and Helmholtz
resonators, these unit cells inherently have a limited working bandwidth. This limi-
tation can be overcome by using 1D and two-dimensional (2D) reflection-type meta-
surfaces composed of grooves with subwavelength widths [77–79], as shown in
Fig. 1.10a–c. The reflected phase delays caused by grooves of different depths
10 1 Introduction

Fig. 1.9 Schematic of three types of metasurface unit cells composed of a a single layer of
Helmholtz resonators with a straight channel, b three layers of Helmholtz resonators with two chan-
nels, and c two layers of Helmholtz resonators with a central channel. d–f The phase delays and
transmission coefficients caused by the metasurface unit cells with different structural parameters
in (a–c)

can cover the full 2π range, enabling arbitrary control of reflected acoustic wave-
fronts and the realization of sound effects without significant bandwidth limitations
(Fig. 1.10d–f).
In addition to groove structures, the design of metasurface unit cells by filling
them with gases of different volume ratios or air at different temperatures can also
effectively overcome bandwidth limitations [80–82]. This is because the gas inside
the unit cells can achieve near-perfect impedance matching with the external air.
As shown in Fig. 1.11a, by filling the unit cells with two types of gases (argon and
xenon) at different volume ratios [80], the phase delay of sound can cover the full 2π

Fig. 1.10 Schematic of a a 1D reflection-type metasurface composed of grooves with periodic

depth, b an Archimedean spiral-shaped grating engraved on a back surface, and c a 2D metasurface-
based Schroeder diffuser. Measured and simulated field distributions of d abnormal sound refraction,
e spiral sound beam, and f scattered acoustic wave caused by the metasurfaces in (a–c)