Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices

We propose a novel acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices that is tunable by an external direct-current electric field. Our design harnesses the intrinsic coupling between acoustic waves and the oscillations of electric dipole moments within piezoelectric domains, which concurrently ge...

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Main Authors: Zhenghua Tang, Dajun Lei, Jianquan Huang, Yaqi Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2025.1593391/full
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author Zhenghua Tang
Dajun Lei
Jianquan Huang
Yaqi Chen
author_facet Zhenghua Tang
Dajun Lei
Jianquan Huang
Yaqi Chen
author_sort Zhenghua Tang
collection DOAJ
description We propose a novel acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices that is tunable by an external direct-current electric field. Our design harnesses the intrinsic coupling between acoustic waves and the oscillations of electric dipole moments within piezoelectric domains, which concurrently generate electromagnetic waves. The periodic modulation of the piezoelectric coefficient folds the phonon dispersion, leading to the intersection and hybridization with the electromagnetic dispersion branch and thereby opening a polaritonic band gap that governs acoustic wave propagation. Numerical simulations reveal that the absolute bandwidth of the first band gap near 10 GHz increases continuously from 0.003 GHz to 0.9 GHz as the electric field is raised from 0 V/m to 1.343 × 106 V/m. Compared with previous acoustic switches, which rely on phase transformations, nonlinear deformations, or radiation pressure, the proposed device operates at much higher frequencies, features continuous and reversible tunability via the electro-optic effect, and benefits from a compact design. Moreover, the observed consistency between the band gaps for acoustic and electromagnetic waves confirms the dual control capability of the switch. These features make the proposed acoustic switch promising for high-frequency acoustic modulation and integrated microwave filtering applications.
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Physics
spelling doaj-art-1a88df46ae6c4f2b9c5279c89efffc2c2025-08-20T01:57:05ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physics2296-424X2025-05-011310.3389/fphy.2025.15933911593391Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlatticesZhenghua TangDajun LeiJianquan HuangYaqi ChenWe propose a novel acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices that is tunable by an external direct-current electric field. Our design harnesses the intrinsic coupling between acoustic waves and the oscillations of electric dipole moments within piezoelectric domains, which concurrently generate electromagnetic waves. The periodic modulation of the piezoelectric coefficient folds the phonon dispersion, leading to the intersection and hybridization with the electromagnetic dispersion branch and thereby opening a polaritonic band gap that governs acoustic wave propagation. Numerical simulations reveal that the absolute bandwidth of the first band gap near 10 GHz increases continuously from 0.003 GHz to 0.9 GHz as the electric field is raised from 0 V/m to 1.343 × 106 V/m. Compared with previous acoustic switches, which rely on phase transformations, nonlinear deformations, or radiation pressure, the proposed device operates at much higher frequencies, features continuous and reversible tunability via the electro-optic effect, and benefits from a compact design. Moreover, the observed consistency between the band gaps for acoustic and electromagnetic waves confirms the dual control capability of the switch. These features make the proposed acoustic switch promising for high-frequency acoustic modulation and integrated microwave filtering applications.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2025.1593391/fullpiezoelectric superlatticesacoustic switchelectro-optic effecttunabilitytransfer matrix method
spellingShingle Zhenghua Tang
Dajun Lei
Jianquan Huang
Yaqi Chen
Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices
Frontiers in Physics
piezoelectric superlattices
acoustic switch
electro-optic effect
tunability
transfer matrix method
title Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices
title_full Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices
title_fullStr Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices
title_full_unstemmed Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices
title_short Electro-optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices
title_sort electro optically tunable acoustic switch based on piezoelectric superlattices
topic piezoelectric superlattices
acoustic switch
electro-optic effect
tunability
transfer matrix method
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphy.2025.1593391/full
work_keys_str_mv AT zhenghuatang electroopticallytunableacousticswitchbasedonpiezoelectricsuperlattices
AT dajunlei electroopticallytunableacousticswitchbasedonpiezoelectricsuperlattices
AT jianquanhuang electroopticallytunableacousticswitchbasedonpiezoelectricsuperlattices
AT yaqichen electroopticallytunableacousticswitchbasedonpiezoelectricsuperlattices