Experimental realization of a soft topological acoustic switch

Abstract

Acoustic topological insulators have revolutionized our understanding of acoustic wave propagation, providing a robust way to manipulate acoustic waves. Acoustic switches offer new possibilities for logical operations, and the topological insulators further enrich the robustness of their signal execution process. To date, most studies in this field are focused on designing a static acoustic structure. However, the experimental realization of a dynamic topological phononic logic to switch acoustic waves is still a great challenge. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a topological acoustic switch based on compressible rubber columns, where the topological propagation route can be dynamically switched by external pressure. Our simulation and experiment results show that when the acoustic system is compressed, the trivial band gap can be efficiently switched to the nontrivial band gap, resulting in dynamic modulation of acoustic communication with high transmission efficiencies. Our study provides a guide to design a soft topological acoustic switch, which exhibits enormous application potential in acoustic signal sensing and topological transistors.