Spectral holographic trapping: Creating dynamic force landscapes with polyphonic waves

Acoustic trapping uses forces exerted by sound waves to transport small objects along specified trajectories in three dimensions. The structure of the acoustic force landscape is governed by the amplitude and phase profiles of the sound's pressure wave. These profiles can be controlled through deliberate spatial modulation of monochromatic waves, by analogy to holographic optical trapping. Alternatively, spatial and temporal control can be achieved by interfering a small number of sound waves at multiple frequencies to create acoustic holograms based on spectral content. We demonstrate spectral holographic trapping by projecting acoustic conveyor beams that move millimeter-scale objects along prescribed paths, and control the complexity of particle trajectories by tuning the strength of weak reflections. Illustrative spectral superpositions of static and dynamic force landscapes enable us to realize two variations on the theme of a wave-driven oscillator, a deceptively simple dynamical system with surprisingly complex phenomenology.
Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures