New Metamaterials Device Focuses Sound Waves Like a Camera Lens

In a cover article in The Journal of Applied Physics, a team of Penn State researchers has designed and computationally tested a type of humanmade metamaterial capable for the first time of manipulating a variety of acoustic waves with one simple device. This invention will benefit almost all current sonic and ultrasonic applications, such as ultrasonic nondestructive evaluations and ultrasonic imaging. The device should also provide more accurate and efficient high-intensity focused ultrasound(HIFU) therapies, a non-invasive heat-based technique targeted at a variety of cancers and neurological disorders.