Novel Acoustic Wave Discovered

 


A new diffraction phenomenon was researched and published on January 14, 2025. The team was led by Tohoku University with collaboration from the Japan atomic energy agency and the RIKEN Center for emergent matter science.

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are elastic vibrations. They travel along the surface of materials, not unlike ripples on a pond. SAWs are an important part of frequency filters used in every day devices like our cell phones.

These devices change electrical signals in vibrations, or ripples. This occurs because of the piezoelectric  effect and it enables efficient signal processing.

During this experiment, the team created a periodic array of magnetic nanoscale materials. The magnetic array is a sort of specialized grating that the waves passed through.

The scientists were surprised. Instead of the usual symmetric defraction, the team saw something different. They observed a completely new, asymmetrical diffraction of SAWs called ‘non-reciprocal defraction’. 

Yoichi Mii is involved in the new study. He remarks, “this phenomenon has previously been observed only in optics, so we are very excited to confirm that it extends beyond optics to other wave phenomena.”

The research team used theoretical analysis. They identified this asymmetric behavior as an interaction between the SAWs and the magnetic materials. Scientists believe this is related to their angular momentum.

This research could allow for precise control of SAW path using magnetic fields. Learning new properties of SAWs will assist in the development of the next generation of communication devices.

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