Finite element analysis of surface modes in phononic crystal waveguides

The study of surface modes in phononic crystal waveguides in the hypersonic regime is a burgeoning field with a large number of possible applications. By using the finite element method, the band structure and the corresponding transmission spectrum of surface acoustic waves in phononic crystal waveguides generated by line defects in a silicon pillar-substrate system were calculated and investigated. The bandgaps are caused by the hybridization effect of band branches induced by local resonances and propagating modes in the substrate. By changing the sizes of selected pillars in the phononic crystal waveguides, the corresponding bands shift and localized modes emerge due to the local resonance effect induced by the pillars. This effect offers further possibilities for tailoring the propagation and filtering of elastic waves. The presented results have implications for the engineering of phonon dynamics in phononic nanostructures.