Articles of manufacture, including an apparatus for acoustic wave based atomization, are provided. The apparatus may include a monocrystalline piezoelectric substrate. The monocrystalline piezoelectric substrate may include a surface patterned with at least one wetting region. The monocrystalline piezoelectric substrate may be configured to respond to an electric signal by at least generating acoustic waves including, for example, surface acoustic waves, Bluestein-Gulayev waves, Lamb waves, Love waves, flexural waves, thickness mode vibrations, mixed-mode waves, longitudinal waves, shear mode vibrations, and/or bulk wave vibrations. The acoustic waves may atomizing at least a portion of a material collected within the at least one wetting region to form a mist of the material. Methods for acoustic wave based atomization are also provided.