arXiv subjects

Zhixiong Gong

Publications and source records attributed to Zhixiong Gong.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Acoustic propagation of a vortex beam in typical Arctic sound environments

This study investigates the propagation of acoustic vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the Arctic underwater environments including the half-channel and the double duct. We produce a vortex beam with a 126-element hexagonal transducer array and model the acoustic propagation based on the ray method. It is found that under the typical Arctic circumstances, vortex beams with helical phase structures exhibit two unique capabilities. First, in the near field, the divergent components of vortex beams traveling at steep grazing angles illuminate shadow zones without mechanical steering of the acoustic source, which cannot be obtained by point or coherent sources at the same configuration. Second, despite strong boundary interactions and sound-speed inhomogeneity, the phase singularities and OAM modal content remain remarkably robust and can be identified at long ranges to some extend. The ice cover induces a larger transmission loss compared to the pressure release boundary condition because of the acoustic absorption in the ice canopy modeled as an elastic layer. These results advance the understanding of structured acoustic wave propagation in complex polar environments and thus provide a theoretical basis for subglacial exploration and under-ice acoustic communication.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2026

Intercoupling of bulk acoustic streaming and acoustothermal effect: A high-frequency focused beam example

High-frequency focused acoustic beams are promising for selective trapping of cells in fluids, but the related acoustic absorption may generate large acoustothermal effect which could cause thermal heating on cells or microparticles and bring extra acoustic body force due to the thermal gradient. The theory of the bulk acoustic streaming and acoustic radiation force in a focused-beam for the three-dimensional selective trapping of a cell has been developed [Li and Gong, Phys. Rev. Fluids, 11, 054201 (2026)], however, the acoustothermal effect and its feedback on the acoustic field at high frequency with strong absorption remain weakly understood. To solve this issue, we develop a theoretical and numerical model that couples acoustic propagation, bulk acoustic streaming, and acoustothermal effect in water. The acoustic body force is decomposed into a viscous-attenuation-induced acoustic body force $\mathbf{f}_{\mathrm{E}}$ and a temperature-gradient-induced acoustic body force $\mathbf{f}_{\mathrm{T}}$, while the temperature field is fed back to the frequency-domain acoustic calculation through the temperature-dependent material properties. Taking the single focused beam for example, within the pressure range constrained by the mechanical index, $\mathbf{f}_{\mathrm{T}}$ remains weaker than $\mathbf{f}_{\mathrm{E}}$, whereas streaming-induced convection can markedly reduce the temperature rise when the thermal Peclet number ($Pe_T$) exceeds unity. This work establishes a theoretical basis for predicting and controlling the intercoupling of bulk acoustic streaming and acoustothermal effec of high-frequency focused beams which will be helpful for the design of single-beam acoustical tweezers.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2026

Competition between acoustic radiation force and streaming-induced drag force in focused beams for 3D cell trapping

The ability to trap a single cell or microparticle in three dimensions is important for biomedical and microfluidic applications. Single-beam acoustic tweezers based on focused waves provide a compact and biocompatible approach because of their high spatial resolution and strong intensity gradients. However, 3D trapping remains challenging, especially at high frequencies, because the weak axial restoring radiation force may not overcome the pushing drag force caused by acoustic bulk streaming in free space. The combined effect of acoustic radiation force and streaming-induced drag force on a microparticle has not been systematically studied. Although the radiation force scales with the square of the focal pressure amplitude p_foc, the scaling of streaming-induced drag force with p_foc under different flow conditions remains unclear. Here, we establish a unified theoretical and numerical framework to compare these two effects and derive an explicit scaling law, U0 ~ p_foc^n, for the streaming velocity from the viscous to the inertial regime. We show that n = 2 in the viscous limit (Re_lambda << 1), n = 4/3 in the inertial limit (Re_lambda >> 1), and n lies between 4/3 and 2 in the transition regime (Re_lambda ~ 1). We further introduce the Schiller-Naumann model to estimate the drag force more accurately than the Stokes model. On this basis, we find that the ratio of axial radiation force to drag can vary non-monotonically with p_foc, contrary to the conventional expectation of monotonic increase. This work provides a theoretical basis for optimizing single-beam acoustic tweezers for stable 3D trapping of single cells.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2026

Experimental demonstration for precisely tuning the focal length of finite-aperture focused beams and vortex

High-frequency focused ultrasound is widely used in biomedical applications such as high-resolution imaging, neuromodulation, particle manipulation, and so on. However, dynamic tuning of the focal plane in conventional systems often relies on mechanically adjustable components or array-based control with complex system and high cost. In this work, an optically transparent, planar compact piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer was designed and fabricated by truncating an ideal spherical wavefront with a plane, enabling high-frequency focused ultrasound generation and convenient integration with microscopic platforms. The acoustic field was characterized experimentally at the focal plane under the design frequency and at propagation planes near the design frequency to evaluate the focal tuning. An approximate linear relation between the focal length and driving frequency near the design one is derived theoretically, and the finite-range tuning behavior is interpreted using the stationary-phase condition. Both theory and experiment show that the focal length varies approximately linearly with excitation frequency near the design frequency. Water-tank measurements agree well with the theoretical prediction, confirming the proposed model. This work provides a simple and cost-effective approach for focal tuning in compact high-frequency ultrasound devices.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2024

Eckart streaming with nonlinear high-order harmonics: an example at gigahertz

Acoustic streaming shows great potential in applications such as bubble dynamics, cell aggregation, and nano-sized particle isolation in the biomedical and drug industries. As the acoustic shock distance decreases with the increase of incident frequency, the nonlinear propagation effect will play a role in acoustic streaming, e.g., Eckart (bulk) streaming at a few gigahertz (GHz). However, the theory of source terms of bulk streaming is still missing at this stage when high-order acoustic harmonics play a role. In this paper, we derive the source term including the contribution of higher-order harmonics. The streaming-induced hydrodynamic flow is assumed to be incompressible and no shock wave occurs during the nonlinear acoustic propagation as restricted by the traditional Goldberg number Γ< 1 or Γ\approx 1 which indicates the importance of nonlinearity relative to dissipation. The derived force terms allow evaluating bulk streaming with high-order harmonics at GHz and provide an exact expression compared to the existing empirical formulas. Numerical results show that the contribution of higher-order harmonics increases the streaming flow velocity by more than 20%. We show that the expression introduced by Nyborg should be avoided in numerical computations as it includes part of the acoustic radiation force that does not lead to acoustic streaming.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2022

Single beam acoustical tweezers based on focused beams: A numerical analysis of 2D and 3D trapping capabilities

Selective single beam tweezers open tremendous perspectives in microfluidics and microbiology for the micromanipulation, assembly and mechanical properties testing of microparticles, cells and microorganisms. In optics, single beam optical tweezers rely on tightly focused laser beams, generating a three-dimensional (3D) trap at the focal point. In acoustics, 3D traps have so-far only been reported experimentally with specific wavefields called acoustical vortices. Indeed, many types of particles are expelled (not attracted to) the center of a focused beam. Yet the trapping capabilities of focused beams have so-far only been partially explored. In this paper, we explore numerically with an angular spectrum code the trapping capabilities of focused beams on a wide range of parameters (size over wavelength ratio and type of particles). We demonstrate (i) that 3D trapping of particles, droplets and microorganisms more compressible than the surrounding fluid is possible in and beyond Rayleigh regime (e.g. polydimethylsiloxane, olive oil, benzene, and lipid sphere) and (ii) that 2D trapping (without axial trap) of particles with positive contrast factor can be achieved by using the particles resonances.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

3D trapping and dynamic axial manipulation with frequency-tuned spiraling acoustical tweezers

Holographic acoustical tweezers (HAT) based on Archimedes-Fermat spiraling InterDigitated Transducers (S-IDTs) are a versatile tool for the selective manipulation of microparticles [Baudoin et. al., Sci. Adv., 5: eaav1967 (2019)] and cells [Baudoin et. al., Nat. Commu., 11, 4244 (2020)] in a standard microfluidic environment. These binary active holograms produce some focused helical wave, with the ability to trap particles at the vortex core. Yet, all the studies conducted with S-IDTs have so far been restricted to 2D manipulation only. Here we show (i) that 3D radiation trap for microparticles and cells can be obtained with spiraling tweezers with sufficiently large aperture and (ii) that the particles can be displaced axially by simply tuning the driving frequency, without any motion of the transducer. This work opens perspectives for 3D cells and microparticles manipulation with single-beam acoustical tweezers.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

Equivalence between angular spectrum-based and multipole expansion-based formulas of the acoustic radiation force and torque

Two main methods have been proposed to derive the acoustical radiation force and torque applied by an arbitrary acoustic field on a particle: The first one relies on the plane wave angular spectrum decomposition of the incident field (see [Sapozhnikov and Bailey, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 133, 661 (2013)] for the force and [Gong and Baudoin, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 148, 3131 (2020)] for the torque), while the second one relies on the decomposition of the incident field into a sum of spherical waves, the so-called multipole expansion (see [Silva, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130, 3541 (2011)] and [Baresh et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 133, 25 (2013)] for the force, and [Silva et al., EPL 97, 54003 (2012)] and [Gong et al., Phys. Rev. Applied 11, 064022 (2019)] for the torque). In this paper, we formally establish the equivalence between the expressions obtained with these two methods for both the force and torque.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Acoustic radiation force on small spheres due to transient acoustic fields

Acoustic radiation force is a net force experienced by an object under the action of an acoustic wave. Most theoretical models require the acoustic wave to be periodic, if not purely monofrequency, and are therefore irrelevant for the study of acoustic radiation force due to acoustic pulses. Here, we introduce the concept of finite-duration pulses, which is the most general condition to derive the acoustic radiation force. In the case of small spheres, we extend the Gor'kov to formula to unsteady acoustic fields such as traveling pulses and interfering wave packets. In the latter case, our study suggests that the concept of acoustic contrast is also relevant to express the acoustic radiation force. For negative acoustic contrast particles, the acoustic trapping region narrows with shorter pulses, whereas positive contrast particles (such as biological cells) can fall in secondary traps when the pulse width deviates from an optimal value. This theoretical insight may help to improve the selectivity of pulsed acoustic tweezers.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2020

Acoustic radiation torque on a particle in a fluid: an angular spectrum based compact expression

In this work, we derive a set of compact analytical formulas expressing the three-dimensional acoustic radiation torque (ART) exerted on a particle of arbitrary shape embedded in a fluid and insonified by an arbitrary acoustic field. This formulation enables direct computation of the ART from the angular spectrum based beam shape coefficients introduced by Sapozhnikov and Bailey [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 133, 661 (2013)] and the partial wave coefficients. It is particularly well suited to determine the ART exerted on a particle when the acoustic field is known in a source plane.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

T-matrix evaluation of three-dimensional acoustic radiation forces on nonspherical objects in Bessel beams with arbitrary order and location

Acoustic radiation forces (ARFs) induced by a single Bessel beam with arbitrary order and location on a nonspherical shape are studied using the T-matrix method (TMM) in three dimensions. Based on the radiation stress tensor approach and the multipole expansion method for the arbitrary Bessel beam, the ARF expressions are derived in terms of the incident and scattered beam shape coefficients independently with the corresponding homemade code packages. Several numerical experiments are conducted to verify the versatility of the TMM. The axial acoustic radiation forces (ARFs) of several typical shapes are considered in the analysis with the emphasis on the axial ARF reversal and the corresponding physical mechanism. This study may guide the experimental set-up to find negative axial ARFs quickly and effectively based on the predicted parameters with TMM. Relatively elongated shapes may be helpful for pulling forces in Bessel beams. Furthermore, the lateral ARFs for both convex and concave nonspherical shapes are also investigated with different topological charges, cone angles and offsets of the particle centroid to the beam axis in a broadband frequency regime. A brief theoretical derivation of the incident beam shape coefficients for the standing Bessel beams is also given. The present work could help to design the acoustic tweezers numerical toolbox which provides an acoustical alternative to the optical tweezers toolbox.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Three-dimensional trapping and assembly of small particles with synchronized spherical acoustical vortices

Three-dimensional harmless contactless manipulation and assembly of micro-objects and micro-organisms would open new horizons in microrobotics and microbiology, e.g. for microsystems assembly or tissue engineering. In our previous work [Gong and Baudoin, Phys. Rev. Appl., 12: 024045 (2019)], we investigated theoretically the possibility to trap and assemble in two dimensions small particles compared to the wavelength with synchronized acoustical tweezers based on cylindrical acoustical vortices. However, since these wavefields are progressive along their central axis, they can only push or pull (not trap) particles in this direction and hence are mainly limited to 2D operations. In this paper, we extend our previous analysis and show theoretically that particles can be trapped and assembled in three-dimensions with synchronized spherical vortices. We show that the particles can be approached both laterally and axially and we determine the maximum assembly speed by balancing the Stokes' drag force and the critical radiation force. These theoretical results provide guidelines to design selective acoustical tweezers able to trap and assemble particles in three dimensions.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Cell selective manipulation with single beam acoustical tweezers

Acoustical tweezers open major prospects in microbiology for cells and microorganisms contactless manipulation, organization and mechanical properties testing since they are biocompatible, label-free and can exert forces several orders of magnitude larger than their optical counterpart at equivalent wave power. Yet, these tremendous perspectives have so far been hindered by the absence of selectivity of existing acoustical tweezers -- i.e., the ability to select and move objects individually -- and/or their limited resolution restricting their use to large particle manipulation only. Here, we report precise selective contactless manipulation and positioning of human cells in a standard microscopy environment, without altering their viability. Trapping forces of up to $\sim$ 200 pN are reported with less than 2 mW of driving power. The unprecedented selectivity, miniaturization and trapping force are achieved by combining holography with active materials and fabrication techniques derived from the semi-conductor industry to synthesize specific wavefields (called focused acoustical vortices) designed to produce stiff localized traps. We anticipate this work to be a starting point toward widespread applications of acoustical tweezers in fields as diverse as tissue engineering, cell mechano-transduction analysis, neural network study or mobile microorganisms imaging, for which precise manipulation and/or controlled application of stresses is mandatory.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2019

Particle assembly with synchronized acoustical tweezers

The contactless selective manipulation of individual objects at the microscale is powerfully enabled by acoustical tweezers based on acoustical vortices [Baudoin et al., Sci. Adv., 5:eaav1967 (2019)]. Nevertheless, the ability to assemble multiple objects with these tweezers has not yet been demonstrated yet and is critical for many applications, such as tissue engineering or microrobotics. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to overcome a major difficulty: the ring of high intensity ensuring particles trapping at the core of the vortex beam is repulsive for particles located outside the trap. This prevents the assembly of multiple objects. In this paper, we show (in the Rayleigh limit and in 2D) that this problem can be overcome by trapping the target objects at the core of two synchronized vortices. Indeed, in this case, the destructive interference between neighboring vortices enables to create an attractive path between the captured objects. The present work may pioneer particles precise assembly and patterning with multi-tweezers.

physics.app-ph↗