Micro and nano fabricated phononic crystals: technology and applications

With the application of microfabrication techniques, phononic crystals have been transformed over the past decade: from hand assembled millimeter-to-meter scale crystals consisting of metal balls in water or epoxy, to precisely machined crystals with sub-micron features operating at frequencies in excess of 1 GHz. This paper reviews the contributions of Sandia National Laboratories to micro and nano scale phononic crystal devices including: the integration of piezoelectric transducers, the choice of phononic crystal materials, phononic crystal design, and the application of phononic crystals to radio frequency and thermal management applications.