Elastic Metamaterials for Wave Mode Conversion, Dispersion Engineering, and Topological Wave Localization Across Scales

Wave control along elastic substrates dominates applications from large-scale geophysical contexts and mechanical vibrations to micro/nanometer on-chip devices, spintronics, and RF filters. The intrinsic complexity of elastic systems, supporting different wave modes, allows the design of structures capable of engineering their coupling, tailoring their group velocity, polarization, and propagation direction. The talk will focus on wave mode coupling as a design tool in elasticity to focus waves in controlled directions, tailor spatial energy distribution, and localize them. After introducing the framework, specific attention will be devoted to showing the advantages of exploiting wave mode conversion in topological systems, highlighting the enhanced localization capabilities that can be achieved. A direct link with applications will be emphasized, particularly in the areas of energy harvesting and radio frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF MEMS).