Differentiated Wavefront Modulation for Directivity Control at High Frequencies

Gu J, Li Z, Yang J. Differentiated Wavefront Modulation for Directivity Control at High Frequencies. In: Convention Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2026. Paper 10255. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23204

@inproceedings{Gu2026_23204,
  author = {Gu, Jun and Li, Zhi and Yang, Jianbin},
  title = {{Differentiated Wavefront Modulation for Directivity Control at High Frequencies}},
  note = {Paper 10255},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23204}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Differentiated Wavefront Modulation for Directivity Control at High Frequencies
AU  - Gu, Jun
AU  - Li, Zhi
AU  - Yang, Jianbin
M1  - Paper 10255
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/28
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23204
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - The inherent narrowing of directivity at high frequencies in compact tweeters limits the spatial uniformity of sound reproduction in modern audio systems. Conventional passive solutions, such as waveguides and acoustic lenses, partially mitigate this issue but typically rely on bulky geometries and treat the diaphragm as a unitary radiator, neglecting localized vibration behavior. This study proposes a Matrix Wavefront Modulator (MWM), a compact passive device that implements a differentiated wavefront-shaping strategy based on vibration-aware radiation control. Sound radiation from the piston-like diaphragm dome and the breakup-prone surround is processed independently by combining guided wavefront steering with targeted scattering compensation. The geometry of the MWM is optimized to adapt to the radiation characteristics of the tweeter. Numerical simulations show that the optimized MWM reshapes the high-frequency wavefront toward a more spherical distribution and significantly reduces off-axis attenuation above 10 kHz. Experimental measurements confirm significant improvements in high-frequency directivity over wide radiation angles.
ER  -