Versatile Standing Wave Generation Between Arbitrarily Oriented Surfaces Using Acoustic Metasurface Deflectors and Retroreflectors

Abstract

Acoustic wave devices using standing wave configurations have gained interest in various fields like healthcare diagnostics and manufacturing. Their functionalities span from cell sorting to microscale fiber assembly through periodic acoustic pressure fields. Conventional methods usually require parallel acoustic emitters and reflective surfaces, producing constrained standing wave patterns. In this paper, an effective approach for creating versatile acoustic standing wave fields using an acoustic metasurface deflector and retroreflector is introduced. The deflector manipulates the direction of incoming acoustic waves coupled with the retroreflector to reflect these waves back to the source. The proposed design allows the creation of standing waves that are not constrained by the relative angles of the two surfaces involved and allows for customizable wave patterns beyond the standard limits with enhanced adaptability. The system's effectiveness is evaluated through computational simulations using finite element analysis and experimental validation based on a 3D‐printed prototype. Results suggest that versatile standing waves between arbitrarily oriented surfaces can be produced through the careful design of the metasurface deflector and retroreflector. This approach can improve the performance of standing wave applications in particle manipulation, thus broadening the range of practical implementations for ultrasound and acoustofluidic technologies.