A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany; the California Institute of Technology, US; and the University of Malta have discovered a new technique to control the transmission of soundwaves on a chip.
Vittorio Peano from the University of Malta, said: “Electronic signals are usually shaped and steered on a chip using electric and magnetic fields.
“Sound waves, which do not possess an electrical charge, are insensitive to such fields and are much more difficult to control on the nanoscale.”
First author of the paper, Christian Brendel from the Max Planck Institute, said: “Our research shows that sound waves on a chip patterned with the appropriate arrangement of holes reproduce the motion of electrons in the presence of extremely strong magnetic fields.”
Florian Marquardt, who led the research added: “This discovery contributes to a growing toolbox developed by scientists worldwide that makes it possible to store, transmit and convert information in the form of sound, light and electronic signals on the same chip.
“Future technological applications might be based on such hybrid platforms hosting mechanical, optical and electrical components.
The University of Malta and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light participate in the Consortium Hybrid Optomechanical Technology, funded from a €10m grant under the EU framework programme Horizon 2020.
Their research has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.