Datensatz

Zusammenfassung

The authors propose here the first experimentally viable scheme of a topological insulator for sound waves at the nanoscale. This significantly advances the field of nanoscale phononics, adding helical waveguides to its toolbox. The proposed device could hardly be simpler as it relies purely on a geometrical design, based on the “snowflake” phononic crystal that has already been demonstrated experimentally. We show how the snowflake phononic crystal structure, which recently has been realized experimentally, can be turned into a topological ins ulator for mechanical waves. This idea, based purely on simple geometrical modifications, could be readily implemented on the nanoscale.