Implementation of two-dimensional selective acoustic tweezers merely using four straight interdigitated transducers:a numerical proof of concept of radiation field synthesis by pulsed acoustic waves

Abstract

Selective acoustic tweezers can focus the acoustic radiation force on a single particle to manipulate it without affecting its neighbors. This has long required highly complex hardware. In this numerical study, we show that pulsed acoustic waves can be used for the selective manipulation of particles using only two pairs of orthogonal transducers. While these tweezers are well-known for their ability to manipulate arrays of particles, we show that selectivity can be achieved by using sequences of acoustic pulses to iteratively construct a combined acoustic potential focused only on the target particle.