A three-dimensional magnetoelastic valley Hall insulator with tunable elastic wave route and frequency

Abstract

Topological insulators (TIs) are a new type of quantum state materials. Due to their novel physical properties, such as topological protection defect immunity to edge states, TIs have become the focus of attention in condensed matter and material physics. At present, the research on TIs has been gradually extended to classical wave fields such as electromagnetic waves, acoustic waves, and elastic waves, and has aroused extensive research interest. However, for elastic wave systems, most TIs cannot actively control topological interface states due to the limitation of fixed structure, which hinders their application in practical situations. Here, we propose a kind of tunable three-dimensional (3D) valley Hall insulator composed of magnetoelastic materials. First, the topological phase transition can be induced by the asymmetric geometry. Then, the working frequency of topological interface states can be changed by using static magnetic fields. Second, topological phase transformation can also be induced by independently tuning the distribution of static magnetic fields or pre-stress in each unit. Based on this, reconfigurable propagation routes of interface states with arbitrary shapes can be realized by tuning the distribution of static magnetic fields or pre-stress in each unit. Finally, considering the sandwich structure composed of different magnetic fields or pre-stress distribution modes, the waveguide with tunable width and route is designed by coupling edge and bulk states, which is convenient for application and better energy transfer. This study provides a reference for the design of a tunable intelligent elastic waveguide.