Acoustic tunneling through artificial structures: From phononic crystals to acoustic metamaterials

We present a comparative study on the acoustic tunneling through artificial periodical composites, from phononic crystals to acoustic metamaterials. We find that the features of the acoustic tunneling are closely related with the origins of band gaps. In particular, the band gap associated with the negative effective material parameter in the metamaterial results in a better analog of the tunneling effect to the quantum system.

Research highlights
► We give a comprehensive study on the acoustic tunneling in artificial composites.
► The features of acoustic tunneling are closely related with the origins of band gaps.
► The metamaterial shows a better analog of the tunneling effect to the quantum system.