Static behavior of a graphene-based sound-emitting device.

Due to the extremely high thermal conductivity and low heat capacity per unit area of graphene, it is possible to fabricate an efficient sound-emitting device based on the thermoacoustic effect with no mechanical vibration. In this paper, the fundamental performance of this new graphene sound-emitting device (G-SED) is investigated in terms of its static behavior. The sound amplitude mapping shows that the G-SED has good sound performance under 0.01 W. The sound frequency spectra measured at different distances and angles show that the G-SED has good sound directivity. It is possible to realize sound wave manipulation by using an array of G-SEDs. The relationship between the temperature of graphene and the sound frequency was investigated by a thermal imaging instrument. The fast transient sound response in real time was recorded by applying 60 μs short time multi-pulses and single-pulse. The stable sound emission at a constant sound pressure amplitude with low noise was observed for continuous operation under a fixed frequency over several hours. Such significant performances in this G-SED indicate broad applications, and shed light on the use of graphene in the field of acoustics.