Negative refraction of elastic waves at the deep-subwavelength scale in a single-phase metamaterial

Negative refraction of elastic waves has been studied and experimentally demonstrated in three- and two-dimensional phononic crystals, but Bragg scattering is impractical for low-frequency wave control because of the need to scale the structures to manageable sizes. Here we present an elastic metamaterial with chiral microstructure made of a single-phase solid material that aims to achieve subwavelength negative refraction of elastic waves. Both negative effective mass density and modulus are observed owing to simultaneous translational and rotational resonances. We experimentally demonstrate negative refraction of the longitudinal elastic wave at the deep-subwavelength scale in the metamaterial fabricated in a stainless steel plate. The experimental measurements are in good agreement with numerical simulations. Moreover, wave mode conversion related with negative refraction is revealed and discussed. The proposed elastic metamaterial may thus be used as a flat lens for elastic wave focusing.