Nanomechanical Resonators Research Articles

Progress Toward Detection of Individual TLS in Nanomechanical Resonators

Progress Toward Detection of Individual TLS in Nanomechanical Resonators

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The focus of dark matter searches to date has been on Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) in the GeV/c2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$c^2$$\\end{document}-TeV/c2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$c^2$$\\end{document} mass range. The direct, indirect and collider searches in this mass range have been extensive but ultimately unsuccessful, providing a strong motivation for widening the search outside this range. Here we describe a new concept for a dark matter experiment, employing superfluid 3\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$^3$$\\end{document}He as a detector for dark matter that is close to the mass of the proton, of order 1 GeV/c2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$c^2$$\\end{document}. The QUEST-DMC detector concept is based on quasiparticle detection in a bolometer cell by a nanomechanical resonator. In this paper we develop the energy measurement methodology and detector response model, simulate candidate dark matter signals and expected background interactions, and calculate the sensitivity of such a detector. We project that such a detector can reach sub-eV nuclear recoil energy threshold, opening up new windows on the parameter space of both spin-dependent and spin-independent interactions of light dark matter candidates.

Graphene nanomechanical vibrations measured with a phase-coherent software-defined radio

Software-defined radios (SDRs) are radio frequency transceivers designed to facilitate digital signal processing through the use of vast libraries of open-source software. Here, we assemble a simple data acquisition system whose architecture, based on SDR, allows us to develop a comprehensive suite of tools to study the vibrations of a few-layer graphene nanomechanical resonator. Namely, we measure the cross-spectrum of vibrations in the frequency domain, we measure their energy decay rate in the time domain, we perform vector measurements of their in-phase and quadrature components, and we control their phase using a time-dependent strain field –all with a single measurement platform. Our approach allows us to tailor our experiments at will and gives us control over every stage of data processing. Overall, our versatile system enables measuring a wide range of nanomechanical properties of graphene by customizing the signal acquisition and replacing some analog electrical circuits, such as filters, mixers, and demodulators, by blocks of code.

Ultrahigh-quality-factor micro- and nanomechanical resonators using dissipation dilution.

Mechanical resonators are widely used in sensors, transducers and optomechanical systems, where mechanical dissipation sets the ultimate limit to performance. Over the past 15 years, the quality factors in strained mechanical resonators have increased by four orders of magnitude, surpassing the previous state of the art achieved in bulk crystalline resonators at room temperature and liquid helium temperatures. In this Review, we describe how these advances were made by leveraging 'dissipation dilution'-where dissipation is reduced through a combination of static tensile strain and geometric nonlinearity in dynamic strain. We then review the state of the art in strained nanomechanical resonators and discuss the potential for even higher quality factors in crystalline materials. Finally, we detail current and future applications of dissipation-diluted mechanical resonators.

Strain engineering of nonlinear nanoresonators from hardening to softening

Although strain engineering and soft-clamping techniques for attaining high Q-factors in nanoresonators have received much attention, their impact on nonlinear dynamics is not fully understood. In this study, we show that nonlinearity of high-Q Si3N4 nanomechanical string resonators can be substantially tuned by support design. Through careful engineering of support geometries, we control both stress and mechanical nonlinearities, effectively tuning nonlinear stiffness of two orders of magnitude. Our approach also allows control over the sign of the Duffing constant resulting in nonlinear softening of the mechanical mode that conventionally exhibits hardening behavior. We elucidate the influence of support design on the magnitude and trend of the nonlinearity using both analytical and finite element-based reduced-order models that validate our experimental findings. Our work provides evidence of the role of soft-clamping on the nonlinear dynamic response of nanoresonators, offering an alternative pathway for nullifying or enhancing nonlinearity in a reproducible and passive manner.

Strain-enhanced dynamic ranges in two-dimensional MoS2 and MoTe2 nanomechanical resonators

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are promising for atomic-scale, ultralow-power, and highly tunable resonant nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) in sensing, communications, and computing. Toward these applications, a broad and controllable linear dynamic range (DR) is desirable for increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reliability. Here, we develop a comprehensive strain-enhanced DR model for 2D NEMS resonators, which is experimentally verified through the tuning of DRs in 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) NEMS resonators using gate-induced strain. We find that the resonance frequency, quality factor, and nonlinear coefficient are all tuned by the gate voltage, which enhance the DR together. Through the guidance of the DR tuning model, we demonstrate DR enhancement by up to 26.9 dB (from 69.5 to 96.4 dB) in a 2D MoS2 NEMS resonator by properly tuning the gate voltage, leading to a theoretical mass resolution of 26 yg (1 yg = 10−24 g). To accurately extract the DR, we further differentiate the quality factors for thermomechanical resonances and for resonances at the largest linear amplitude. This gate-enhanced DR model is also verified using a MoTe2 resonator, with DR enhancement of 7 dB (91.2 to 98.2 dB). The results provide a promising pathway for accurately predicting and optimizing the DRs in NEMS resonators, toward enhanced sensitivity and SNR in mass sensing, radio frequency signal processing, memory, and computing applications.

Surface Adsorption and Air Damping Behavior of β‐Ga2O3 Nanomechanical Resonators

AbstractBeta gallium oxide (β‐Ga2O3) has emerged as a highly promising semiconductor material with an ultrawide bandgap ranging from 4.5 to 4.9 eV for future applications in power electronics, optoelectronics, as well as gas and ultraviolet (UV) radiation sensors. Here, surface adsorption and air damping behavior of doubly clamped β‐Ga2O3 nanomechanical resonators are probed and systemically studied by measuring the resonance characteristics under different gas and pressure conditions. High responsivities of resonance to pressure are obtained by heating the devices up to 300 °C to induce an accelerated adsorption–desorption process. The initial surface conditions of the β‐Ga2O3 thin film play important roles in affecting the resonant behavior. UV ozone treatment proves effective in altering the initial surface conditions of β‐Ga2O3 nanosheets by eliminating physisorbed contaminants and filling oxygen vacancy defects residing on the surface, resulting in a consequential and discernible modification of the resonance behavior of β‐Ga2O3 nanomechanical resonators. The surface adsorption and desorption processes in β‐Ga2O3 demonstrate clear reversibility by exposing the UV treated β‐Ga2O3 to air. This study attains first‐hand information on how the surface conditions of β‐Ga2O3 affect its mechanical properties, and helps guide future development of transducers via β‐Ga2O3 nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) for pressure sensing applications, especially in harsh environments.

Research on Fabrication of Phononic Crystal Soft-Supported Graphene Resonator.

In aviation, aerospace, and other fields, nanomechanical resonators could offer excellent sensing performance. Among these, graphene resonators, as a new sensitive unit, are expected to offer very high mass and force sensitivity due to their extremely thin thickness. However, at present, the quality factor of graphene resonators at room temperature is generally low, which limits the performance improvement and further application of graphene resonators. Enhancing the quality factor of graphene resonators has emerged as a pressing research concern. In a previous study, we have proposed a new mechanism to reduce the energy dissipation of graphene resonators by utilizing phononic crystal soft-supported structures. We verified its feasibility through theoretical analysis and simulations. This article focuses on the fabrication of a phononic crystal soft-supported graphene resonator. In order to address the issues of easy fracture, deformation, and low success rate in the fabrication of phononic crystal soft-supported graphene resonators, we have studied key processes for graphene suspension release and focused ion beam etching. Through parameter optimization, finally, we have obtained phononic crystal soft-supported graphene resonators with varying cycles and pore sizes. Finally, we designed an optical excitation and detection platform based on Fabry-Pérot interference principle and explored the impact of laser power and spot size on phononic crystal soft-supported graphene resonators.

Toward practical mass spectrometry with nanomechanical pillar resonators by surface acoustic wave transduction

Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have shown outstanding performance in the detection of small masses down to single proton sensitivity. To obtain a high enough throughput for application in practical mass spectrometry, NEMS resonators are arranged in two-dimensional (2D) arrays. However, all state-of-the-art electromechanical transduction methods rely on electrical lines placed close to the mechanical resonators, which drastically restricts the density of 2D resonator arrays. An exception is the transduction by surface acoustic waves (SAWs), which has so far only been shown for the transduction of single nanomechanical pillar resonators. Here, we demonstrate the transduction of pillar pairs by SAWs. The pillars have a diameter of 700 nm and show a mass responsivity of −588 ± 98 ng−1. The distances between the pillar pairs are 70 nm and 14.3 µm. SAW transduction enabled us to measure both pillars of each pair with electrical lines no closer than 300 µm, illustrating the potential of SAWs to transduce dense arrays of pillar resonators, a crucial step toward practical mass spectrometry with NEMS.

Tunable nonlinear damping in MoS2 nanoresonator

Nonlinear damping plays a significant role in several areas of physics, including the dynamics of nanoresonators. However, many aspects remain unclear, and the microscopic source of nonlinear damping is still an active area of research. In particular, the effect of mode coupling on the observed damping has drawn significant interest. Here, we report on the effect of mode coupling on nonlinear damping in a highly tunable MoS2 nano-mechanical drum resonator. In our experiments, we observe enhanced nonlinear damping in the parameter space that favors internal resonance. We observe this enhanced damping both in the direct drive and the parametric drive measurements. The study presents a comprehensive characterization of the tunable nonlinear damping of a MoS2 resonator in a parametric regime. Our work marks a significant advancement in understanding the potential sources of nonlinear damping. Moreover, a highly tunable 2D material based nanoresonator offers an excellent platform to study nonlinear physics and exploit tunable nonlinear damping.

Sensitivity in nanomechanical pedestal MEMS cantilever

Nanomechanical resonator-based sensing devices are used in medical diagnostics based on their high-frequency dynamic behavior. Cantilevers fall into the category of Nanomechanical resonators. It also resembles a resonator whose shape is like that of a nanowire clamped at one end. As the surface-to-volume ratio of a nanowire resonator increases due to scaling down, surface stress plays a crucial role in the mechanical behavior of a resonator. Piezoresistive MEMS cantilevers are used for vapor phase analysis of volatile compounds and gas. Studies were done to address the mass sensitivity issues and fractures associated with bioceramic and nanocomposite coatings-based cantilever resonators. The studies show how the sensing performance can be determined or tuned. Finite Element modelling of a pedestal cantilever resonator was done which takes into consideration the mass sensitivity issues associated with linear cantilevers. MEMS cantilever structures were fabricated using lithographic techniques. SiCN, a suitable material for MEMS in harsh operating conditions were deposited on Silicon substrates showing high hardness (20 GPa) and modulus (220 GPa). The electrical conduction taking place between the nanoindentation tip and sample was explored. The surface stress of 711 MPa was determined based on pedestal cantilever deflections, Fracture taking place on the sample surface was found to affect the conduction and tip displacements in AFM nanoindentations. The sharpness of the tip was found to have an influence on the tip-sample conduction mechanism useful for MEMS applications. The sensitivity associated with cell mass detection was reported to get affected by film deposition stress and formation of surface cracks and puts a challenge for doing future work.

Nonclassical correlation, squeezing and total phase for a one- and two-CPB interacting with nanomechanical resonator under decoherence effect

Nonclassical correlation, squeezing and total phase for a one- and two-CPB interacting with nanomechanical resonator under decoherence effect

Coupled Nanomechanical Graphene Resonators: A Promising Platform for Scalable NEMS Networks.

Arrays of coupled nanoelectromechanical resonators are a promising foundation for implementing large-scale network applications, such as mechanical-based information processing and computing, but their practical realization remains an outstanding challenge. In this work, we demonstrate a scalable platform of suspended graphene resonators, such that neighboring resonators are persistently coupled mechanically. We provide evidence of strong coupling between neighboring resonators using two different tuning methods. Additionally, we provide evidence of inter-resonator coupling of higher-order modes, demonstrating the rich dynamics that can be accessed with this platform. Our results establish this platform as a viable option for realizing large-scale programmable networks, enabling applications such as phononic circuits, tunable waveguides, and reconfigurable metamaterials.

Nanomechanical vibrational response from electrical mixing measurements

Driven nanomechanical resonators based on low-dimensional materials are routinely and efficiently detected with electrical mixing measurements. However, the measured signal is a non-trivial combination of the mechanical eigenmode displacement and an electrical contribution, which makes the extraction of the driven mechanical response challenging. Here, we report a simple yet reliable method to extract solely the driven mechanical vibrations by eliminating the contribution of pure electrical origin. This enables us to measure the spectral mechanical response as well as the driven quadratures of motion. This method is crucial for nanomechanical vibrations in the nonlinear regime, since the shape of the mechanical response depends on the physics at work. We further show how to calibrate the measured signal into units of displacement. Our method marks a key step forward in the study of nanoelectromechanical resonators based on low-dimensional materials in the nonlinear regime.

Photothermal Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Nanomechanical Resonators.

In nanomechanical photothermal absorption spectroscopy and microscopy, the measured substance becomes a part of the detection system itself, inducing a nanomechanical resonance frequency shift upon thermal relaxation. Suspended, nanometer-thin ceramic or 2D material resonators are innately highly sensitive thermal detectors of localized heat exchanges from substances on their surface or integrated into the resonator itself. Consequently, the combined nanoresonator-analyte system is a self-measuring spectrometer and microscope responding to a substance's transfer of heat over the entire spectrum for which it absorbs, according to the intensity it experiences. Limited by their own thermostatistical fluctuation phenomena, nanoresonators have demonstrated sufficient sensitivity for measuring trace analyte as well as single particles and molecules with incoherent light or focused and wide-field coherent light. They are versatile in their design, support various sampling methods-potentially including hydrated sample encapsulation-and hyphenation with other spectroscopic methods, and are capable in a wide range of applications including fingerprinting, separation science, and surface sciences.

Electrochemical etching strategy for shaping monolithic 3D structures from 4H-SiC wafers

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is an outstanding material, not only for electronic applications, but also for projected functionalities in the realm of spin-based quantum technologies, nano-mechanical resonators and photonics-on-a-chip. For shaping 3D structures out of SiC wafers, predominantly dry-etching techniques are used. SiC is nearly inert with respect to wet etching, occasionally photoelectrochemical etching strategies have been applied. Here, we propose an electrochemical etching strategy that solely relies on defining etchable volumina by implantation of p-dopants. Together with the inertness of the n-doped regions, very sharp etching contrasts can be achieved. We present devices as different as monolithic cantilevers, disk-shaped optical resonators and membranes etched out of a single crystal wafer. The high quality of the resulting surfaces can even be enhanced by thermal treatment, with shape-stable devices up to and even beyond 1550°C. The versatility of our approach paves the way for new functionalities on SiC as high-performance multi-functional wafer platform.

Multimode Brownian dynamics of a nanomechanical resonator in a viscous fluid

Multimode Brownian dynamics of a nanomechanical resonator in a viscous fluid

Microelectronics-compatible reduced graphene oxide based nanomechanical resonators capable of all-electrical actuation and read-out

Photolithographic patterning and deterministic transfer of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are key innovations that can give way to cost-effective batch processing of nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS)-based resonators with high throughput. Here, by implementing the same, we report a facile fabrication process for NEMS-based resonators consisting of rGO as the active material for the structural layer. The structural properties of rGO thin film are confirmed using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Temperature-dependent current–voltage characteristics of rGO film ensure the typical 2D Mott variable range hopping (VRH) transport with ambipolar charge conduction, further supporting the effectiveness of the fabrication process. All-electrical actuation and readout of the fabricated resonators are performed using both frequency modulation (FM) downconversion and piezoresistive mixing methods adeptly to achieve a resonance frequency of around 28–32 MHz. The fabrication process is compatible with the current microelectronic technology and can foster the prospect of on-chip implementation of rGO NEMS toward possible applications such as molecular sensors, mass detectors, etc.

Highly Anisotropic Mechanical Response of the Van der Waals Magnet CrPS4

AbstractSemiconducting van der Waals magnets exhibit a rich physical phenomenology with different collective excitations, as magnons or excitons, that can be coupled, thereby offering new opportunities for optoelectronic, spintronic, and magnonic devices. In contrast with the well‐studied van der Waals magnets CrI3 or Fe3GeTe2, CrPS4 is a layered metamagnet with a high optical and magnon transport anisotropy. Here, the structural anisotropy of CrPS4 above and below the magnetic phase transition is investigated by fabricating nanomechanical resonators. A large anisotropy is observed in the resonance frequency of resonators oriented along the crystalline a‐ and b‐axis, indicative of a lattice expansion along the b‐axis, boosted at the magnetic phase transition, and a rather small continuous contraction along the a‐axis. This behavior in the mechanical response differs from that previously reported in van der Waals magnets, as FePS3 or CoPS3, and can be understood from the quasi‐1D nature of CrPS4. The results pinpoint CrPS4 as a promising material in the field of low‐dimensional magnetism and show the potential of mechanical resonators for unraveling the in‐plane structural anisotropy coupled to the magnetic ordering that, in a broader context, can be extended to studying structural modifications in other 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures.

Recent advances in carbon nanotube patterning technologies for device applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have gained significant attention in the scientific and technology sectors due to their exceptional physical, chemical, and electronic properties. These qualities make them excellent candidates for several electronic applications, such as ballistic conduction, high current densities, low power consumption, outstanding single-photon capacity, and excellent nano-mechanical resonators. However, incorporating CNTs into specific micro- and nano-architectures and hybrid structures remains challenging. Developing fabrication and patterning technologies, involving CNTs, that can scale up while utilizing their exceptional properties has received significant attention in the last two decades. Various approaches have been investigated, including top-down and bottom-up methods, and new techniques have been used to achieve selective CNTs production through patterning. The continued developments of patterning technologies is critical for fully exploiting CNTs’ practical applicability. This mini-review looks at recent advances in fabrication and patterning of CNTs with micro- and nanoscale resolution, such as using pre-patterned substrates, dielectrophoresis, oxidative etching, and selective production and growth for CNTs, or direct printing of CNT-containing inks, etc. Article discusses advantages and limitations of various approaches for achieving accurate and scalable CNT patterning. Overcoming fabrication challenges will pave the way for a widespread use of CNTs in various applications including electronics, photonics, mechanical and biomedical devices and hybrid systems, etc.