Graded quasiperiodic metamaterials perform fractal rainbow trapping

Abstract

The rainbow trapping phenomenon of graded metamaterials can be combined with the fractal spectra of quasiperiodic waveguides to give a metamaterial that performs fractal rainbow trapping. This is achieved through a graded cut-and-project algorithm that yields a projected geometry for which the effective projection angle is graded along its length. As a result, the fractal structure of local band gaps varies with position, leading to broadband fractal rainbow trapping. We demonstrate this principle by designing an acoustic waveguide, which is characterised using theory, simulation and experiments.