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Observation and tuning of hypersonic bandgaps in colloidal crystals

Nature Materials volume 5, pages 830–836 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Composite materials with periodic variations of density and/or sound velocities, so-called phononic crystals, can exhibit bandgaps where propagation of acoustic waves is forbidden. Phononic crystals are the elastic analogue of the well-established photonic crystals and show potential for manipulating the flow of elastic energy. So far, the experimental realization of phononic crystals has been restricted to macroscopic systems with sonic or ultrasonic bandgaps in the sub-MHz frequency range. In this work, using high-resolution Brillouin spectroscopy we report the first observation of a hypersonic bandgap in face-centred-cubic colloidal crystals formed by self-assembly of polystyrene nanoparticles with subsequent fluid infiltration. Depending on the particle size and the sound velocity in the infiltrated fluid, the frequency and the width of the gap can be tuned. Promising technological applications of hypersonic crystals, ranging from tunable filters and heat management to acousto-optical devices, are anticipated.

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Figure 1: Fabrication of dry and wet opal films.
Figure 2: Supported opal and scattering geometry.
Figure 3: Brillouin light scattering spectra of dry and wet opals and phononic gap.
Figure 4: Bandgap tuning by different infiltration.
Figure 5: Tuning the phononic gap with particle diameter.

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Acknowledgements

Partial support by the EU through the Network of Excellence ‘SoftComp’ is gratefully appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, Mainz, 55128, Germany

    Wei Cheng, Jianjun Wang, Ulrich Jonas & George Fytas

  2. Department of Materials Science and Technology and FORTH, Heraklion, 71110, Greece

    George Fytas

  3. Section of Solid State Physics, University of Athens, Athens, 15784, Greece

    Nikolaos Stefanou

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  1. Wei Cheng
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  2. Jianjun Wang
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Correspondence to George Fytas.

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Cheng, W., Wang, J., Jonas, U. et al. Observation and tuning of hypersonic bandgaps in colloidal crystals. Nature Mater 5, 830–836 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1727

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