Phononics

The study of phonons–although a core discipline in the conventional condensed matter physics literature–is currently being viewed in a new light. Whether examined at the nanoscale, microscale or larger scales, the analysis and manipulation of phonons (aka phononics) is opening up a new technological frontier with a potential impact that could match that of electronics almost half a century ago. Indeed a rival field, photonics, is gathering similar momentum. Looking closely, phononics encompasses a range of interconnected disciplines, usually labeled in terms of the type of host “material” that provides the medium for phononic wave propagation. These include phononic crystals, acoustic/elastic metamaterials, superlattices and periodic structures. The application domains that these phononic materials are impacting, with increasing promise, range from vibration isolation in MEMS components, through frequency sensing in RF communications, to nano-scale thermal transport control in semiconductors. With the recent advent of metamaterials, exotic applications are now added to the list such as acoustic cloaking and superlensing. The interaction of mechanical waves with their optical counterpart in a lattice, i.e.,  optomechanics, is opening up another barrage of opportunities especially in telecommunications. Topological phononics is yet another contemporary area of phononics that has been attracting profound interest.

History of the Conference

The coming-of-age of these closely-related disciplines has provided a converging point of historical significance for the science of phonons. In 2009, an International Workshop on Phononic Crystals took place in Nice, France and was attended by around 30 experts in the field from around the world. Building on this effort, a larger-in-scale international forum was created in 2011 by Ihab El-Kady and Mahmoud I. Hussein leading to the establishment of the Phononics 20xx conference series as the prime international conference for the field. Phononics 2011 in Santa Fe, New Mexico was the inaugural conference in the bi-annual series, welcoming scientists and engineers from across the world and across all related disciplines. Phononics 2013 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt followed. Phononics 2015 in Paris, France was the third edition, and in 2017, Phononics 2017 was held in Changsha, China. The 5th conference, Phononics 2019, was held in Tucson, Arizona. The intention was for Phononics 2021 to held in Marrakech, Morocco. Unfortunately, however, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic this was cancelled. We are however delighted to bring the phononics community back together in Manchester in 2023.

In 2017, the International Phononics Society (IPS) was founded to serve as an international scientific society to serve the field. Since then, IPS has formally overseen the organization of the Phononics 20xx conference series and the management of the IPS awards, which are the Bloch Prize (est. 2011), the Brillouin Medal (est. 2013), and the Phononics Young Investigator Award (est. 2015).

Previous Phononics 20xx Conferences

Phononics 2011:        
Chairs: Ihab El-Kady, Mahmoud I. Hussein
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
May 29 – June 2, 2011

Phononics 2013:       
Chairs: Ihab El-Kady, Mahmoud I. Hussein
Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt
June 2 – 7, 2013

Phononics 2015:       
Chairs: Bernard Bonello, Abdelkrim Khelif, Bahram Djafari-Rouhani
Paris, France
May 31 – June 5, 2015

Phononics 2017:       
Chairs: Jihong Wen, Baowen Li, Ping Sheng
Changsha, China
June 4 – June 9, 2017

Phononics 2019:        
Chairs: Pierre A. Deymier, Katia Bertoldi, Nicholas Boechler
Tucson, Arizona, USA
June 2 – 7, 2019

Phononics 2021:       
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Phononics 2023:       
Chairs: William J. Parnell, Olga Umnova, Richard V. Craster
Manchester, England
June 12 – 16, 2023

Phononics 2025:       
Chairs: Jinkyu "JK" Yang, Joo H. Oh, Yoon Y. Kim
Seoul, Korea
June 9 – 13, 2025

Phononics 2023

Phononics 2023 is the sixth conference dedicated to analysis and manipulation of phonons (vibrations in solids), connecting researchers interested in phononic crystals, acoustic, elastic, nanophononic and thermal metamaterials, metasurfaces, wave propagation in periodic structures, nano-scale phonon transport, and optomechanics and phonon coupling. A quiet revolution in phononics is under way!  This revolution, driven by a growing community, challenges the current paradigms of the science of phonons and is expanding what was thought until only recently to be well established frontiers.  The new frontiers are enabled by new fundamental scientific principles inspired by condensed matter physics, and the environmental and life-sciences, as well as new fabrication and manufacturing technologies.  The objectives of Phononics 2023 are to share our current understanding of these scientific principles in the context of phononics (which includes metamaterials) as well as discuss the implications and approaches in fabrication, manufacturing, and technological development to address critical strategic, technological, and societal challenges. Phononics 2023 will promote the notion of convergence research, that is, the merging of ideas, approaches, and technologies from diverse fields of knowledge at a high level of integration with the aim of solving complex technical and societal problems as well as addressing complex intellectual questions.

More specifically, the conference scientific focus will be on the following nine central themes underlying current research in the field of phononics:

1.         Phononic Crystals; Fundamentals, Design and Fabrication.

2.         Acoustic and Elastic Metamaterials; Fundamentals, Design and Fabrication

3.         Acoustic and Elastic Metasurfaces; Fundamentals, Design and Fabrication

4.         Temporally modulated Phononic Media

5.         Topological Acoustics and Phononics

6.         Nonlinear Phononics

7.         Thermal Phonons

8.         Mathematical Methods Underpinning Phononics

9.         Applied Phononics

The conference will also endeavour to seek links from phononics to other related fields in an attempt to enhance the possibilities for collaboration. In particular we highlight opportunities in photonics and quantum applications.