Experimental realization of on-chip topological nanoelectromechanical metamaterials

By Jinwoong Cha, Kun-woo Kim, Chiara Daraio. 2018

240 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Guiding waves through a stable physical channel is essential for reliable information transport. However, energy transport in high-frequency mechanical systems, such as in signal-processing applications1, is particularly sensitive to defects and sharp turns because of back-scattering and losses2. Topological phenomena in condensed matter systems have shown immunity to defects and unidirectional energy propagation3. Topological mechanical metamaterials translate these properties into classical systems for efficient phononic energy transport. Acoustic and mechanical topological metamaterials have so far been realized only in large-scale systems, such as arrays of pendulums4, gyroscopic lattices5,6, structured plates7,8 and arrays of rods, cans and other structures acting as acoustic scatterers9–12. To fulfil their potential in device applications, mechanical topological systems need to be scaled to the on-chip level for high-frequency transport13–15. Here we report the experimental realization of topological nanoelectromechanical metamaterials, consisting of two-dimensional arrays of free-standing silicon nitride nanomembranes that operate at high frequencies (10–20 megahertz). We experimentally demonstrate the presence of edge states, and characterize their localization and Dirac-cone-like frequency dispersion. Our topological waveguides are also robust to waveguide distortions and pseudospin-dependent transport. The on-chip integrated acoustic components realized here could be used in unidirectional waveguides and compact delay lines for high-frequency signal-processing applications. Topological nanoelectromechanical metamaterials are realized at the micrometre scale, using silicon nitride nanomembranes, opening the way for on-chip integrated acoustic components in high-frequency signal-processing applications.

Subfields: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics, Biomedical Engineering

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Citations in the corpus

How to See Hidden Patterns in Metamaterials with Interpretable Machine Learning (2021, background): “or stiffness [13, 15]) has been experimentally observed at different scales, which has prompted engineers to explore their use in different applications, ranging from materials for advanced batteries [62], to energy harvesting [12], seismic protection [7, 26, 46, 47], vibration or sound insulation [”
Topological active matter (2020, background): “This feature may be technologically advantageous in the design of miniaturized sonic waveguides 45,165,166 .”
Tailoring Structure‐Borne Sound through Bandgap Engineering in Phononic Crystals and Metamaterials: A Comprehensive Review (2022, background): “Right: Experimental results of the dispersion curves along the topological waveguide [269].”