Optical reflection and waveguiding of sound by photo-thermally induced barriers
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Cullum, Brian M., Ellen L. Holthoff, and Paul M. Pellegrino. “Optical Reflection and Waveguiding of Sound by Photo-Thermally Induced Barriers.” Optics Express 25, no. 19 (September 18, 2017): 22738–49. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.25.022738.
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract
Control and manipulation of sound is of critical importance to many different scientific and engineering fields, requiring the design of rigid physical structures with precise geometries and material properties for the desired acoustics. In this work, we demonstrate the ability to manipulate the direction and magnitude of sound waves traveling in air using laser light, without the need for physical interfaces associated with different materials. Efficient reflection of sound waves off of transient, optically generated, abrupt air density barriers is demonstrated, with acoustic reflections greater than 25% of the incident acoustic wave amplitude. Implementation of multiple barriers, can result in complete suppress the transmission of incident acoustic signals as great as 70 dB. Additionally, shaping the laser beam acoustic waveguides can be generated with dramatically reduced transmission losses.