Implementation of two-dimensional selective acoustic tweezers merely using four straight interdigitated transducers:a numerical proof of concept of radiation field synthesis by pulsed acoustic waves

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a numerical proof of concept for using just four straight interdigitated transducers and pulsed acoustic waves to selectively manipulate individual particles, simplifying hardware requirements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of particle selectivity using only two pairs of orthogonal transducers and pulsed waves, reducing complexity in acoustic tweezers.

Findings

Selective manipulation achieved with simple hardware

Pulsed acoustic waves enable iterative potential focusing

Method applicable to particle arrays and individual particles

Abstract

Selective acoustic tweezers can focus the acoustic radiation force on a single particle to manipulate it without affecting its neighbors. This has long required highly complex hardware. In this numerical study, we show that pulsed acoustic waves can be used for the selective manipulation of particles using only two pairs of orthogonal transducers. While these tweezers are well-known for their ability to manipulate arrays of particles, we show that selectivity can be achieved by using sequences of acoustic pulses to iteratively construct a combined acoustic potential focused only on the target particle.