Acoustic Topological Insulators: Envisioned Applications and Technology Integration

The field of acoustic metamaterials has witnessed remarkable research growth during the last 20 years, with topological insulators recently emerging as a promising new focus area. Topological insulators, or materials exhibiting topological band structure, offer intriguing possibilities for guiding and/or isolating wave energy along surfaces, edges, and corners, to include interfaces between topologically-distinct materials. Perhaps most intriguing, the underlying topology of the wave phase imbues these waves with protection from backscattering at sharp interfaces and defects, thus making topological insulators appealing for use in a wide range of wave-based devices and applications.

This Research Topic aims to foster and stimulate research efforts focused on harnessing the potential of acoustic topological insulators for the creation of new, or improve existing, application areas and devices. It also seeks to explore challenges and opportunities associated with integrating topological insulators into existing technologies.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
• Communication Devices: use of acoustic topological insulators for signal processing, noise reduction, and the development of advanced communication devices.
• Mechanical Logic: use of topological insulators for creating novel mechanical logic circuits and devices.
• Edge Computing: use of topological insulators for edge computing solutions, including signal processing and data storage.
• Energy Isolation and Harvesting: use of topological insulators to efficiently isolate mechanical vibrations, as well as harvesting energy from acoustic sources.
• Integration Challenges: challenges and strategies for integrating topological insulators into existing technologies.
• Commercialization Potential: potential of topological insulators to disrupt the marketplace, to include near-term and far-term projections.