Abstract
Disordered sound fields are ubiquitous in our daily life – the sound in a room undergoes multiple scattering form such a sound field. These fields are inherently random and traditionally challenging to manipulate. In our research, we demonstrate that reconfigurable acoustic metasurfaces can effectively reshape reverberating sound fields. By actively adjusting the reflective phases, these metasurfaces can 're-sculpt' the acoustic environment. The specific acoustic metasurface we have developed includes 200 units of electronically tunable Helmholtz resonators. Each unit can switch between two phase states, allowing for dynamic control of reflected waves over a wide frequency range from 1000 to 1700 Hz. This tunability is achieved through individual control of each resonator, utilizing a series of feedback-driven optimization algorithms. In particular, information theories are explored for diverse acoustic communication scenarios. Our findings reveal that acoustic metasurfaces hold significant promise for revolutionizing room acoustics, offering innovative approaches to controlling sound and paving the way for new avenues in acoustic engineering.
Brief Biography
Dr. Guancong Ma is currently a professor of physics at Hong Kong Baptist University. He received B.Sc. in applied physics at the South China University of Technology in 2007 and then Ph.D. in physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2012. After that, he became a postdoc fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Department of Physics at the same institution until 2017, when he joined the Department of Physics at Hong Kong Baptist University. He now serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Physics Society of Hong Kong. Dr. Ma was awarded the “Young Investigator Award 2021” by the International Phononics Society, and was selected as one of the “Top 10 Rising Stars in Science and Technology 2021” by the China Association for Science and Technology. He is the recipient of the “C. N. Yang Award” in 2022, awarded by the Association of Asia Pacific Physical Societies and the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics. Dr. Ma has obtained support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s Excellent Young Scientists Scheme (Hong Kong & Macao).
Dr. Ma’s research currently focuses on studying topological physics and non-Hermitian physics in using acoustic- wave and mechanical platforms. He is also interested in metamaterials and complex waves. He has published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including Science, Nature, Nature research journals, Physical Review X, Physical Review Letters. His papers have received over 8500 citations, which, according to Charivate, makes him one of the “World’s Top 2% Scientists.” Dr. Ma also holds 8 US patents, 2 WIPO patents, and 9 Chinese patents.