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A variety of scientific fields like proteomics and spintronics have created a new demand for on-chip devices capable of sensing parameters localized within a few tens of micrometers. Nano and microelectromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS) are extensively employed for monitoring parameters that exert uniform forces over hundreds of micrometers or more, such as acceleration, pressure, and magnetic fields. However, they can show significantly degraded sensing performance when targeting more localized parameters, like the mass of a single cell. To address this challenge, we present a MEMS device that leverages the destructive interference of two topological radiofrequency (RF) counter-propagating wave modes along a piezoelectric Aluminum Scandium Nitride (AlScN) Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) interface. The reported MEMS device opens up opportunities for further purposes, including achieving more stable frequency sources for communication and timing applications. The authors introduce a MEMS device that leverages the destructive interference between two topological radiofrequency (RF) counter-propagating wave modes at a piezoelectric Aluminum Scandium Nitride (AlScN) Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) interface. This device offers enhanced sensing capabilities compared to conventional NEMS/MEMS, particularly for localized parameters such as the mass of a single cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy harvesting capability of a graded metamaterial is maximised via reinforcement learning (RL) under realistic excitations at the microscale. The metamaterial consists of a waveguide with a set of beam-like resonators of variable length, with piezoelectric patches, attached to it. The piezo-mechanical system is modelled through equivalent lumped parameters determined via a general impedance analysis. Realistic conditions are mimicked by considering either magnetic loading or random excitations, the latter scenario requiring the enhancement of the harvesting capability for a class of forcing terms with similar but different frequency content. The RL-based optimisation is empowered by using the physical understanding of wave propagation in a such local resonance system to constrain the state representation and the action space. The procedure outcomes are compared against grading rules optimised through genetic algorithms. While genetic algorithms are more effective in the deterministic setting featuring the application of magnetic loading, the proposed RL-based proves superior in the inherently stochastic setting of the random excitation scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the importance of lattice structures in multiple fields, we numerically investigate the propagation of flexural waves in a thin reticulated plate augmented with two classes of metastructures for wave mitigation and guiding, namely metabarriers and metalenses. The cellular architecture of this plate invokes the well-known octet topology, while the metadevices rely on novel customized octets either comprising spherical masses added to the midpoint of their struts or variable node thickness. We numerically determine the dispersion curves of a doubly-periodic array of octets, which produce a broad bandgap whose underlying physics is elucidated and leveraged as a design paradigm, allowing the construction of a metabarrier effective for inhibiting the transmission of waves. More sophisticated effects emerge upon parametric analyses of the added masses and node thickness, leading to graded designs that spatially filter waves through an enlarged bandgap via rainbow trapping. Additionally, Luneburg and Maxwell metalenses are realized using the spatial modulation of the tuning parameters and numerically tested. Wavefronts impinging on these structures are progressively curved within the inhomogeneous media and steered toward a focal point. Our results yield new perspectives for the use of octet-like lattices, paving the way for promising applications in vibration isolation and energy focusing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elastic waves guided along surfaces dominate applications in geophysics, ultrasonic inspection, mechanical vibration, and surface acoustic wave devices; precise manipulation of surface Rayleigh waves and their coupling with polarised body waves presents a challenge that offers to unlock the flexibility in wave transport required for efficient energy harvesting and vibration mitigation devices. We design elastic metasurfaces, consisting of a graded array of rod resonators attached to an elastic substrate that, together with critical insight from Umklapp scattering in phonon-electron systems, allow us to leverage the transfer of crystal momentum; we mode-convert Rayleigh surface waves into bulk waves that form tunable beams. Experiments, theory and simulation verify that these tailored Umklapp mechanisms play a key role in coupling surface Rayleigh waves to reversed bulk shear and compressional waves independently, thereby creating passive self-phased arrays allowing for tunable redirection and wave focusing within the bulk medium. Umklapp scattering, an effect that has been conventionally studied in phonon systems in quantum transport, is studied here in an elastic system. The authors demonstrate mode conversion from surface Rayleigh waves into bulk waves that have uniquely tunable properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of achromatic optical components requires materials with high transparency and low dispersion. We show that although metals are highly opaque, densely packed arrays of metallic nanoparticles can be more transparent to infrared radiation than dielectrics such as germanium, even when the arrays are over 75% metal by volume. Such arrays form effective dielectrics that are virtually dispersion-free over ultra-broadband ranges of wavelengths from microns up to millimeters or more. Furthermore, the local refractive indices may be tuned by altering the size, shape, and spacing of the nanoparticles, allowing the design of gradient-index lenses that guide and focus light on the microscale. The electric field is also strongly concentrated in the gaps between the metallic nanoparticles, and the simultaneous focusing and squeezing of the electric field produces strong ‘doubly-enhanced’ hotspots which could boost measurements made using infrared spectroscopy and other non-linear processes over a broad range of frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CK was supported by the H2020 "INSPIRE" EU program under Grant agreement No. 813424. RW thanks the UK EPSRC for their support through Grant EP/L016230/1." now reads: "GA and AC were supported by the H2020 FETOpen project BOHEME under Grant agreement No. 863179 and by the Swiss National Science Foundation Ambizione Fellowship PZ00P2-174009. CK was supported by the H2020 "INSPIRE" EU program under Grant agreement No. 813424. [Extracted from the article]

The three-dimensional two-phase flow dynamics inside a microfluidic device of complex geometry is simulated using a parallel, hybrid front-tracking/level-set solver. The numerical framework employed circumvents numerous meshing issues normally associated with constructing complex geometries within typical computational fluid dynamics packages. The device considered in the present work is constructed via a module that defines solid objects by means of a static distance function. The construction combines primitive objects, such as a cylinder, a plane, and a torus, for instance, using simple geometrical operations. The numerical solutions predicted encompass dripping and jetting, and transitions in flow patterns are observed featuring the formation of drops, ‘pancakes’, plugs, and jets, over a wide range of flow rate ratios. We demonstrate the fact that vortex formation accompanies the development of certain flow patterns, and elucidate its role in their underlying mechanisms. Experimental visualisation with a high-speed imaging are also carried out. The numerical predictions are in excellent agreement with the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]