Phononic crystals

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Phononic crystals are artificial periodic structures that effectively manipulate sound, acoustic, or elastic waves. Introduced two decades ago, they have garnered significant interest due to their remarkable properties and potential applications. This field intersects physics—particularly condensed matter physics and wave propagation in inhomogeneous and periodic media—and engineering disciplines such as acoustics and mechanical engineering. Phononic crystals span various scales, from meter-sized structures for sound in air to nanometer-sized ones for information processing and thermal phonon control in integrated circuits. They share a relationship with photonic crystals in optics, and their combination offers a promising foundation for enhanced sound and light interactions. Initially, the focus was primarily theoretical, with limited demonstrations. However, the field has evolved towards practical applications, instrumentation, and innovative designs. The underlying physical principles are now well understood, supported by efficient numerical methods and analysis tools. This resource includes a comprehensive set of finite element model (FEM) scripts for solving fundamental phononic crystal problems. These scripts are concise, user-friendly, and effective, enabling readers to generate band structures for 2D and 3D phononic crystals, compute Bloch waves, waveguide and cavity modes, and more.