Bücher von MARCO G. BEGHI

Acoustics is a mature field which enjoys a never ending youth. New developments are induced by either the search for a better understanding, or by technological innovations. Micro-fabrication techniques introduced a whole new class of microdevices, which exploit acoustic waves for various tasks, and in particular for information processing and for sensing purposes. Performance improvements are achievable by better modelling tools, able to deal with more complex configurations, and by more refined techniques of fabrication and of integration in technological systems, like wireless communications. Several chapters of this book deal with modelling and fabrication techniques for microdevices, including unconventional phenomena and configurations. But this is far from exhausting the research lines in acoustics. Theoretical analyses and modelling techniques are presented, for phenomena ranging from the detection of cracks to the acoustics of the oceans. Measurement methods are also discussed, which probe by acoustic waves the properties of widely different systems.

The concept of acoustic wave is a pervasive one, which emerges in any type of medium, from solids to plasmas, at length and time scales ranging from sub-micrometric layers in microdevices to seismic waves in the Sun's interior. This book presents several aspects of the active research ongoing in this field. Theoretical efforts are leading to a deeper understanding of phenomena, also in complicated environments like the solar surface boundary. Acoustic waves are a flexible probe to investigate the properties of very different systems, from thin inorganic layers to ripening cheese to biological systems. Acoustic waves are also a tool to manipulate matter, from the delicate evaporation of biomolecules to be analysed, to the phase transitions induced by intense shock waves. And a whole class of widespread microdevices, including filters and sensors, is based on the behaviour of acoustic waves propagating in thin layers. The search for better performances is driving to new materials for these devices, and to more refined tools for their analysis.