Guiding and splitting Lamb waves in coupled-resonator elastic waveguides

We investigate experimentally Lamb wave propagation in coupled-resonator elastic waveguides (CREWs) formed by a chain of cavities in a two-dimensional phononic crystal slab with cross holes. Wide complete bandgaps, extending from 53 to 88 kHz, are first measured in a finite phononic crystal slab sample. A straight waveguide and a wave splitting circuit with 90 degrees bends are then designed, fabricated and measured. Elastic Lamb waves are excited by a piezoelectric patch attached to one side of the phononic slab and detected using a scanning vibrometer. Strongly confined guiding and splitting at waveguide junctions are clearly observed for several guided waves. Numerical simulations are found to be in excellent agreement with experimental results and allow for the identification of the involved resonant cavity modes. The influence on the dispersion of guided waves of the slab thickness and of the hole length is also investigated. The results have implications for the design of innovative phononic devices with strong confinement and tailorable dispersion.