Acoustic-controlled particles utilize acoustic radiation forces generated by momentum and energy exchange between sound waves and particles to manipulate their motion. This approach offers advantages such as non-contact operation, excellent compatibility, no need for additional particle labeling, and simple device integration, making it highly promising for applications in precision manufacturing and precision medicine, and a current research focus in the field of particle manipulation. However, existing acoustic control techniques still suffer from issues like poor stability and limited active control capabilities. To address these challenges, we propose an acoustic tweezers method based on acoustic metamaterials to enhance system stability; subsequently, we developed an active acoustic tweezers system utilizing phased arrays to modulate particle trajectories. Building on these advancements, we achieved separation of metal powders for additive manufacturing across diverse materials and sizes, providing a novel technical solution for powder recovery in laser additive manufacturing.

Dai Hongqing, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He obtained his bachelor's and doctoral degrees from Hunan University in 2015 and 2020, respectively, and completed a joint doctoral program at Harvard University in the United States from 2018 to 2020. His main research interests include metamaterials, microfluidics, and phased array technology, with a focus on exploring the interdisciplinary applications of acoustic and multiphysics coupling theories as well as simulation control techniques in manufacturing. He has led multiple research projects, including two grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General/Youth Program), one grant from the Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Youth Program), and two grants from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (General/Special Support Program). As the first or corresponding author, he has published over 20 papers in SCI-indexed journals.