Reconfigurable waveguide based on valley topological phononic crystals with local symmetry inversion via continuous translation

We proposed a reconfigurable valley topological acoustic waveguide constructed using a 2D phononic crystal (PnC) with C3v symmetric arrangement of three rods in the unit cell. An interface between two types of PnCs with differently oriented unit cells exhibits high robustness of the valley transport of acoustic waves via the topologically protected state. Structural reconfiguration was introduced by the continuous translation of rod arrays in the PnCs. The topological phase transition in this translational change was quantitatively identified by the change in the Berry curvature. The translation of the rods leaves a dimer array at the interface, creating a localized/defective mode along the waveguide. Despite the presence of the localized mode, the acoustic wave can propagate along the reconfigurable waveguide the same as the original waveguide. The continuous translation of a rod array can be used to turn on and off the bandgap. This can be a new approach to design a robust acoustic device with a high reconfigurability.