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Photonic crystal structures can be created to manipulate electromagnetic waves so that many studies have focused on designing photonic band-gaps for various applications including sensors, LEDs, lasers, and optical fibers. Here, we show that mono-layered, self-assembled photonic crystals (SAPCs) fabricated by using an inkjet printer exhibit extremely weak structural colors and multiple colorful holograms so that they can be utilized in anti-counterfeit measures. We demonstrate that SAPC patterns on a white background are covert under daylight, such that pattern detection can be avoided, but they become overt in a simple manner under strong illumination with smartphone flash light and/or on a black background, showing remarkable potential for anti-counterfeit techniques. Besides, we demonstrate that SAPCs yield different RGB histograms that depend on viewing angles and pattern densities, thus enhancing their cryptographic capabilities. Hence, the structural colorations designed by inkjet printers would not only produce optical holograms for the simple authentication of many items and products but also enable a high-secure anti-counterfeit technique.

This paper presents design method for a tuned liquid damper (TLD) to improve the stability of measurement system based on a spar buoy. Firstly, a TLD was designed utilizing the double-partition hull structure of spar buoy, and the theoretical natural sloshing frequency for this design was calculated. Next, an experimental study was conducted to verify the theoretical calculations. The experimental results showed that the natural sloshing frequency increased with the height of the fluid free-surface, and the values are in close agreement with the theoretical calculations. Finally, the TLD was installed to a free-drifting structure at sea, and the dynamic behavior reduction effect was experimentally verified. The results showed that the behavior of the structure is significantly reduced after the TLD is installed, especially for the behavior above 4 cm. The main contribution of this study is the integration of a TLD into the existing structure of the spar buoy, which enhances stability without compromising buoyancy. However, this approach is limited by the shape and volume constraints of the TLD, making it less effective across all wave-induced frequencies. Further research is required to extend its applicability to a broader range of maritime conditions.

During our research, we explored a novel way to represent subwavelength imaging and derived a transmission equation to explicate the FP (Fabry – Pérot) resonance phenomena. Subsequently, using analysis and observation, we performed deep-subwavelength imaging. Both numerically and experimentally, imaging with super-resolution was achieved at deep subwavelength scale of λ/56.53 with a lens thickness 212 mm. Our results also showed that by increasing lens thickness, higher resolution can be achieved. Moreover, via a single source study, we showed the full width at half maximum range and predicted the size of smallest detectable object. We also observed that with a greater lens thickness, finer features could be detected. These findings may open a new route in near-field imaging for practical applications such as biometric sensors, ultrasonic medical equipment, and non-destructive testing.

Artificially designed acoustic meta-surfaces have the ability to manipulate sound energy to an extraordinary extent. Here, we report on a new type of directional reflective surface consisting of an array of sub-wavelength Helmholtz resonators with varying internal coiled path lengths, which induce a reflection phase gradient along a planar acoustic meta-surface. The acoustically reshaped reflective surface created by the gradient-impeding meta-surface yields a distinct focal line similar to a parabolic cylinder antenna, and is used for directive sound beamforming. Focused beam steering can be also obtained by repositioning the source (or receiver) off axis, i.e., displaced from the focal line. Besides flat reflective surfaces, complex surfaces such as convex or conformal shapes may be used for sound beamforming, thus facilitating easy application in sound reinforcement systems. Therefore, directional reflective surfaces have promising applications in fields such as acoustic imaging, sonic weaponry, and underwater communication.

In this study, we investigate the acoustic metamaterial (AMM) design for flow noise reduction when using a vacuum cleaner. The AMM was based on the principle of Helmholtz resonators, and metamaterial design variables were defined to reduce noise to approximately 1.5 and 2.5 kHz bands. An acoustic simulation was performed considering the thermoviscous effect using the designed AMM, and a transmission loss in the simulation results was calculated using the four-microphone method. Finally, noise experiments were performed on a vacuum cleaner equipped with metamaterial. Through this, the noise reduction performance of metamaterial predicted through simulations was verified, thereby showing the selective implementation of noise reduction in the desired frequency band.

Ventilated acoustic resonators (VARs) for simultaneous sound attenuation and ventilation have presented a unique challenge in acoustics. Traditional methods for designing VARs are limited by their reliance on human intuition and extensive computational resources. This study proposes a novel sound transmission loss-encoded variational autoencoder (STL-VAE) for the inverse design of ventilated acoustic resonators (VARs). The STL-VAE model overcomes these limitations by encoding the target sound transmission loss (STL) into a latent space, enabling the generation of VAR designs that achieve broadband sound attenuation. STL-VAE significantly reduces the mean squared error (MSE) between the target STL and the generated VAR designs, outperforming the best designs from the training dataset by over 100fold. The proposed method offers a highly efficient and accurate approach for designing complex acoustic metamaterials with applications in urban and industrial noise mitigation.

The emission enhancement of sound without electronic components has wide applications in a variety of remote systems, especially when highly miniaturized (smaller than wavelength) structures can be used. The recent advent of acoustic metamaterials has made it possible to realize this. In this study, we propose, design and demonstrate a new class of acoustic cavity using a double-walled metamaterial structure operating at an extremely low frequency. Periodic zigzag elements which exhibit Fabry-Perot resonant behavior below the phononic band-gap are used to yield strong sound localization within the subwavelength gap, thus providing highly effective emission enhancement. We show, both theoretically and experimentally, 10 dB sound emission enhancement near 1060 Hz that corresponds to a wavelength approximately 30 times that of the periodicity. We also provide a general guideline for the independent tuning of the quality factor and effective volume of acoustic metamaterials. This approach shows the flexibility of our design in the efficient control of the enhancement rate.

We demonstrate an infrared broadband metasurface absorber that is suitable for increasing the response speed of a microbolometer by reducing its thermal mass. A large fraction of holes are made in a periodic pattern on a thin lossy metal layer characterised with a non-dispersive effective surface impedance. This can be used as a non-resonant metasurface that can be integrated with a Salisbury screen absorber to construct an absorbing membrane for a microbolometer that can significantly reduce the thermal mass while maintaining high infrared broadband absorption in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) band. The non-dispersive effective surface impedance can be matched to the free space by optimising the surface resistance of the thin lossy metal layer depending on the size of the patterned holes by using a dc approximation method. In experiments a high broadband absorption was maintained even when the fill factor of the absorbing area was reduced to 28% (hole area: 72%), and it was theoretically maintained even when the fill factor of the absorbing area was reduced to 19% (hole area: 81%). Therefore, a metasurface with a non-dispersive effective surface impedance is a promising solution for reducing the thermal mass of infrared microbolometer pixels.

Target strength (TS) is an important design factor for improving the survivability of an underwater vehicle, and various efforts are ongoing to enhance it. Among the design techniques to improve TS, absorbing materials attached to the surface of an underwater vehicle can play a key role by reducing the reflected and scattered acoustic waves. In this study, the acoustic performance of target strength absorbing materials (TSAMs) is first analyzed, and then the simplified procedure of TS analysis considering TSAMs is suggested. The 4-microphone method and transfer matrix method evaluating equivalent material properties of TSAMs are derived, and their effectiveness is cross-validated through a series of analyses for a multi-layer acoustic absorbing structure. From the observed results, it is concluded that the transfer matrix method is more suitable for practical TS analysis than the 4-microphone method because of the relatively low calculation and time costs required for the acoustic performance evaluations of TSAMs. In addition, a simplified TS analysis procedure considering the echo reduction (ER) and transmission loss (TL) is proposed based on the combining method of physical optics and geometric optics (PO/GO combined method) and equivalent material properties. Using the suggested procedure, a series of TS analyses are performed using the Benchmark Target Strength Simulation (BeTSSi) to validate its applicability and effectiveness.

We report on the out-of-plane thermal conductivities of epitaxial Fe3O4 thin films with thicknesses of 100, 300, and 400 nm, prepared using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on SiO2/Si substrates. The four-point probe three-omega (3-ω) method was used for thermal conductivity measurements of the Fe3O4 thin films in the temperature range of 20 to 300 K. By measuring the temperature-dependent thermal characteristics of the Fe3O4 thin films, we realized that their thermal conductivities significantly decreased with decreasing grain size and thickness of the films. The out-of-plane thermal conductivities of the Fe3O4 films were found to be in the range of 0.52 to 3.51 W/m · K at 300 K. For 100-nm film, we found that the thermal conductivity was as low as approximately 0.52 W/m · K, which was 1.7 to 11.5 order of magnitude lower than the thermal conductivity of bulk material at 300 K. Furthermore, we calculated the temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of these Fe3O4 films using a simple theoretical Callaway model for comparison with the experimental data. We found that the Callaway model predictions agree reasonably with the experimental data. We then noticed that the thin film-based oxide materials could be efficient thermoelectric materials to achieve high performance in thermoelectric devices.