High-performance quasi one-dimensional mirrors of mechanical waves built of periodic and aperiodic structures

The work studied the reflectance for quasi one-dimensional phononical structures. In composite superlattices, the thickness of the layers, their arrangement and selection of constituent materials with appropriate properties such as the density and velocity of mechanical waves propagation allows for the creation of a phononic band gap (PhBG) phenomenon. PhBG is characterized by high reflectance of the mechanical wave incident on the analyzed structure, which means that the wave does not propagate in the superlattice. The paper proposes periodic and aperiodic structures characterized by a wide range of reflectance for the ultrasonic frequencies of mechanical waves and shows how the change the thickness of the layer affects the properties of the analyzed structures.