Broadband and wide-angle negative reflection at a phononic crystal boundary

We have theoretically and experimentally demonstrated the anomalous negative reflection at the boundary of a well-designed two-dimensional phononic crystal. This exotic phenomenon is attributed to the selective enhancement of −1st order diffraction mode with the zero-order diffraction mode being dramatically suppressed. After material and structural optimization, the negative reflection can be maintained in a broadband of frequencies and for a wide incident angle range. Our system can be employed to design Littrow configuration to realize perfect broadband and wide-angle blazing. The study gives a possibility to achieve greater flexibility and stronger effects in manipulating reflected acoustic waves, which has potential applications in underwater communication, medical ultrasonics, etc