Programmable Acoustic Metasurfaces

In recent decades, the manipulation of acoustic waves to generate controlled three-dimensional wave fields has attracted increasing attention for applications such as medical ultrasound imaging, non-destructive testing, and cell manipulation. Despite their effectiveness, conventional wave-control approaches, such as the gold standard of phased-array transducers, suffer from significant drawbacks, including high cost, electronic complexity, and manufacturing challenges. These limitations have restricted the scalability and broader adoption of such
technologies.
In this context, programmable acoustic metasurfaces represent a transformative alternative to existing technologies. Classical metasurfaces have generated high interest thanks to their ability to control waves at deep subwavelength scales, enabling phenomena such as absorption, phase modulation, and amplitude control.
However, most existing applications operate only at single frequencies with fixed geometries. This PhD project proposes the design, realization, and characterization of programmable metasurfaces that allow for the full, dynamic control of acoustic wavefronts. By manipulating the physical geometry or material properties of the unit cells via electromechanical, thermomechanical, or other activation phenomena, this research aims to bridge the gap between static metamaterials and complex active arrays. Our ambitious objective is to develop the requisite technology and explore the fundamental physical principles of active wave control, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with such metasurfaces.

More information on the link below.