Engineering the Nanoscale Acoustic Purcell Effect

Engineering the Nanoscale Acoustic Purcell Effect | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Engineering the Nanoscale Acoustic Purcell Effect Chengzhi Shi, Tianye Zhang, John Kim, Heidi Zhang, Ge Wang, Ke Ding, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7958211/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Controlling spontaneous emission through environment-dependent density of states, the Purcell effect, has profoundly influenced many areas of wave physics, from quantum systems to metamaterials. However, its realization in acoustics has remained largely unexplored, particularly at the nanoscale, where impedance mismatch and viscous damping severely limit emission efficiency. These constraints impose fundamental trade-offs between output intensity, device compactness, and biocompatibility, hindering the development of efficient, miniaturized ultrasound technologies for imaging, sensing, and therapy. Here, we demonstrate the nanoscale acoustic Purcell effect, in which engineered nanodroplets act as tunable resonant cavities that locally modify the acoustic density of states (DOS) to amplify reradiated sound. A theoretical framework for this effect is developed and experimentally verified through ultrasound emission measurements, yielding a normalized acoustic Purcell factor (APF/D) of 1.6×105 ± 2.6×102 m-1, over two orders of magnitude greater than previously reported acoustic designs. The enhancement arises from nanoscale geometric confinement and interfacial elasticity, providing direct control over emission rate, reradiation efficiency, and bandwidth. Passive-listening imaging confirms >40 dB amplification under identical drive conditions, establishing strong agreement between model and experiment. This work introduces a general framework for nanoscale acoustic emission control, extending the Purcell principle beyond photonic and electronic domains into soft-matter acoustics. By uniting tunable nanostructures with density-of-states engineering, we establish the foundation for nanophononic control of sound–matter interactions, enabling high-contrast, energy-efficient ultrasound sources for biomedical and soft-device applications. Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Physical sciences/Materials science/Nanoscale materials/Nanoparticles Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale materials/Nanoparticles Purcell effect nanoscale ultrasound emission enhancement nanodroplets medical imaging high-intensity ultrasound Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files PurcellSupplmentary.pdf Supplementary Materials Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7958211","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":547092432,"identity":"44a45205-6fd9-47a9-afe8-ba9d9cecf6f2","order_by":0,"name":"Chengzhi 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However, its realization in acoustics has remained largely unexplored, particularly at the nanoscale, where impedance mismatch and viscous damping severely limit emission efficiency. These constraints impose fundamental trade-offs between output intensity, device compactness, and biocompatibility, hindering the development of efficient, miniaturized ultrasound technologies for imaging, sensing, and therapy. Here, we demonstrate the nanoscale acoustic Purcell effect, in which engineered nanodroplets act as tunable resonant cavities that locally modify the acoustic density of states (DOS) to amplify reradiated sound. A theoretical framework for this effect is developed and experimentally verified through ultrasound emission measurements, yielding a normalized acoustic Purcell factor (APF/D) of 1.6×105 ± 2.6×102 m-1, over two orders of magnitude greater than previously reported acoustic designs. The enhancement arises from nanoscale geometric confinement and interfacial elasticity, providing direct control over emission rate, reradiation efficiency, and bandwidth. Passive-listening imaging confirms \u003e40 dB amplification under identical drive conditions, establishing strong agreement between model and experiment. This work introduces a general framework for nanoscale acoustic emission control, extending the Purcell principle beyond photonic and electronic domains into soft-matter acoustics. 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