Broadband Acoustic Collimation and Focusing using Reduced Aberration Acoustic Luneburg Lens

Abstract: Acoustic Luneburg lens is a symmetric gradient-index lens with a refractive index decreasing radially from the centre to the outer surface. It can be used to manipulate acoustic wave propagation with collimation and focusing capabilities. However, previously studied acoustic Luneburg lens works only at audible frequency ranges from 1 kHz to 7 kHz, or at a single ultrasonic frequency of 40 kHz. In addition, the acoustic Luneburg lens at high frequency is not omnidirectional in the previous researches. Furthermore, there is no realization of simulation and experimental testing of 3D acoustic Luneburg lens until now. In this paper, a practical reduced aberration acoustic Luneburg lens (RAALL) are proposed for broadband and omnidirectional acoustic collimation and focusing with reduced aberrations. Ray tracing technique shows that RAALL can achieve a better acoustic focusing compared with traditional modified acoustic Luneburg lens. Following that, two models of RAALL are designed and fabricated through additive manufacturing technology: a 2D version and a 3D version. Collimation and focusing performances of the ultrasonic waves are theoretically, numerically and experimentally demonstrated for both 2D and 3D lenses, and their broadband and omnidirectional characteristics are verified.