Homogeneous Dislocation-Induced Rainbow Concentrating for Elastic Waves

Abstract

Defects play a crucial role in the physical properties of crystals, whether for classical or quantum systems. For example, in photonic/phononic crystals, defects can serve as precise guidance and localization of classical electromagnetic or mechanical waves. Rainbow concentrating, a recently proposed exotic wave localization [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 113902 (2021)] exploits defects to enable the collection and frequency routing of weak signals in real space. In this paper, using a solid-state phononic crystal (PnC) plate, we experimentally verify this phenomenon by deliberately infusing a homogeneous graded dislocation, i.e., a line defect, into the PnC. Two PnCs separated by the defect will breed deterministic interface states along with the defect, offering rainbow trapping and concentrating for elastic waves. Our PnC-based rainbow trappers and concentrators are scalable and configurable, promising for advancing applications like energy harvesting, information processing, and acoustofluidic manipulating.