Cylindrical 3D printed configurable ultrasonic lens for subwavelength focusing enhancement

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we report the characteristics of acoustic jets obtained through a mesoscale (radius less than 5 wavelengths) ABS cylinder made with a 3D printer. We have analyzed the influence of cylinder size on the characteristic parameters of an acoustic jet, such as maximum acoustic intensity at focus, Full Width at Half Maximum and length of Acoustic Jet. FWHM below 0.5 wavelength in AJ was experimentally obtained. It has been observed that there are two operating regimes depending on the cylinder radius: the resonant and the non-resonant. In the resonant regime, the excitation of Whispering Gallery Modes results in optimal parameter values of the acoustic jet. However, as it is a resonant regime, any minimal variation in cylinder size, working frequency or refractive index would make resonance disappear. In non-resonant mode, a phononic crystal has been embedded inside the cylinder and the characteristic parameters of the acoustic jet have been studied. These have been observed to improve. Finally, we have shown that curved acoustic jets can be obtained with the ABS cylinder with a phononic crystal embedded inside.