Towards Environmentally Responsive Hypersound Materials

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel SiO2 mesoporous thin film-based nanoacoustic resonator whose GHz-range resonance frequency shifts with humidity, enabling environmentally responsive hypersound control for advanced technological applications.

Contribution

It introduces an open-cavity nanoacoustic resonator using mesoporous thin films that responds to environmental humidity changes, a novel approach for tunable hypersound devices.

Findings

Resonance frequency shifts with humidity levels.

Resonance primarily influenced by film thickness and material properties.

Pore size has minimal effect on resonance frequency.

Abstract

The engineering of acoustic phonons in the gigahertz (GHz) range holds significant potential for technological breakthroughs in areas such as data processing, sensing and quantum communication. Novel approaches for nanophononic resonators responsive to external stimuli provide additional control and functionality for these devices. Mesoporous thin films (MTFs) for example, featuring nanoscale ordered pores, support GHz-range acoustic resonances. These materials are sensitive to environmental changes, such as liquid and vapor infiltration, modifying their effective optical and elastic properties. Here, a SiO$_{2}$ MTF-based open-cavity nanoacoustic resonator is presented, in which the MTF forms the topmost layer and is exposed to the environment. Using a transient reflectivity setup, acoustic responses under varying humidity conditions are investigated. A pronounced shift in acoustic resonance frequency with changes in relative humidity is observed for the first time, demonstrating a simple way to tune hypersound confinement. In addition, resonators with varying pore sizes and thicknesses are compared, revealing that resonance frequencies are primarily influenced by material properties and film thickness, rather than pore size. The proposed open-cavity resonator design provides a versatile platform for future studies on the mechanical response of MTFs to liquid and vapor infiltration, opening the gate to environment-responsive hypersound devices.