Polarization Splitter-Rotator Based on Multimode Waveguide Grating

We demonstrate a polarization splitter rotator (PSR) based on multimode waveguide grating (MWG) on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. Bloch mode hybridization in mini-stopband is exploited to achieve high polarization conversion efficiency. The fabricated device yields a high extinction ratio of > 53 dB and > 31 dB, low crosstalk of < −26.4 dB and < −40 dB for the injected TE0 and TM0 mode, with average insertion loss of 1.2 dB and 1.5 dB in the wavelength regime 1552 nm–1562 nm. Such a device shows great design flexibility and an easy fabrication process, serving as a good candidate in integrated polarization diversity circuits, especially for applications requiring spectra manipulation. Additionally, the polarization conversion approach provides opportunities to develop novel polarization management devices.

(Generalized) Bloch mode synthesis for the fast dispersion curve calculation of 3D periodic metamaterials

Metamaterials, i.e. artificial structures with unconventional properties, have shown to be highly potential lightweight and compact solutions for the attenuation of noise and vibrations in targeted frequency ranges, called stop bands. In order to analyze the performance of these metamaterials, their stop band behavior is typically predicted by means of dispersion curves, which describe the wave propagation in the corresponding infinite periodic structure. The input for these calculations is usually a finite element model of the corresponding unit cell. Most common in literature are 2D plane metamaterials, which often consist of a plate host structure with periodically added masses or resonators. In recent literature, however, full 3D metamaterials are encountered which are periodic in all three directions and which enable complete, omnidirectional stop bands. Although these 3D metamaterials have favorable vibro-acoustic characteristics, the computational cost to analyze them quickly increases with unit cell model size. Model order reduction techniques are important enablers to overcome this problem. In this work, the Bloch Mode Synthesis (BMS) and generalized BMS (GBMS) reduction techniques are extended from 2D to 3D periodic structures. Through several verifications, it is demonstrated that dispersion curve calculation times can be strongly reduced, while accurate stop band predictions are maintained.

Impact of the unit cell choice on the efficiency of dispersion curve calculations using GBMS

Recently, the potential of metamaterials and phononic crystals to cope with conflicting requirements of obtaining lightweight structures with desirable noise and vibration properties has been demonstrated. These, often periodic, structures are commonly studied based on their representative unit cell of which the vibro-acoustic performance is examined by means of their wave propagation, visualized by dispersion curves. Typically, the unit cell is discretized using a finite element technique to capture the possibly complex geometry. This leads to a high computation cost for the dispersion curve calculation which can be strongly reduced by applying modal based model order reduction techniques such as the (generalized) Bloch mode synthesis. In this paper, the choice of the unit cell is shown to have an impact on the dispersion curve calculation time. Moreover, the efficiency of (generalized) Bloch mode synthesis strongly depends on the unit cell choice. The highest reduction in computation time is accomplished when the number of boundary degrees-of-freedom is limited.

A Numerical and Experimental Study on an Interconnected Metamaterial for Flexural Vibration Control Based on Modal Strain Energy

In this study, an interconnected metamaterial was proposed to suppress flexural vibration. The interconnected metamaterial can improve the manufacturing and installation processes in terms of convenience because it can be fabricated in the form of a modular multi-celled structure with a single-phase material. To evaluate the vibration reduction performance of the metamaterial, stopband analysis was performed, as it solves an iterative eigenvalue problem for the wave vector domain. In order to identify the Bloch mode that contributes to flexural vibration, a concept to extract the Bloch mode based on the modal strain energy was proposed. The vibration-reduction performance of the interconnected metamaterial was numerically verified by using a frequency-response analysis of the multi-celled structure. The interconnected metamaterial proposed in this study was fabricated by using a 3D printer. Finally, the vibration-reduction performance of the multi-celled structure was experimentally verified by using impact testing.