General Framework of Bound States in the Continuum in an Open Acoustic Resonator

Bound states in the continuum (BICs) provide a viable way of achieving high-Q resonances in both photonics and acoustics. In this work, we propose a general method of constructing Friedrich-Wintgen (FW) BICs and accidental BICs in a coupled acoustic waveguide-resonator system. We demonstrate that FW BICs can be achieved with arbitrary two degenerate resonances in a closed resonator, regardless of whether they have the same or opposite parity. Moreover, their eigenmode profiles can be arbitrarily engineered by adjusting the position of the attached waveguide. This suggests an effective way of continuously switching the nature of the BICs from FW BICs to symmetry-protected BICs or accidental BICs. Also, such BICs are sustained in the coupled waveguide-resonator system with shapes such as rectangles, ellipses, and rhomboids. These interesting phenomena are well explained by the two-level effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, where two strongly coupled degenerate modes play a major role in forming such FW BICs. Additionally, we find that such an open system also supports accidental BICs in geometry space instead of momentum space via tuning the position of the attached waveguide, which is attributed to the quenched coupling between the waveguide and eigenmodes of the closed cavity. Finally, we fabricate a series of three-dimensional coupled resonator waveguides and experimentally verify the existence of FW BICs and accidental BICs by measuring the transmission spectra. Our results complement the current BIC library in acoustics and provide nice routes for designing acoustic devices, such as acoustic absorbers, filters, and sensors.

Duke Scholars

Author Steven A. Cummer Electrical and Computer Engineering