Parametric Resonance in Nanoelectromechanical Single Electron Transistors

Abstract

We show that the coupling between single-electron charging and mechanical motion in a nanoelectromechanical single-electron transistor can be utilized in a novel parametric actuation scheme. This scheme, which relies on a periodic modulation of the mechanical resonance frequency through an alternating source-drain voltage, leads to a parametric instability and emergence of mechanical vibrations in a limited range of modulation amplitudes. Remarkably, the frequency range where instability occurs and the maximum oscillation amplitude, depend weakly on the damping in the system. We also show that a weak parametric modulation increases the effective quality factor and amplifies the system's response to the conventional actuation that exploits an AC gate signal.