Frequency response of a new kind of silicon nanoelectromechanical systems resonators

Diffraction effects will bring about more difficulties in actuating resonators,which are electrostatically actuated ones with sub-micrometer or nanometer dimensions,and in detecting the frequency of the resonator by optical detection.To avoid the effects of diffraction,a new type of nanoelectromechanical systems（NEMS） resonators is fabricated and actuated to oscillate.As a comparison,a doubly clamped silicon beam is also fabricated and studied.The smallest width and thickness of the resonators are 180 and 200 nm,respectively.The mechanical oscillation responses of these two kinds of resonators are studied experimentally.Results show that the resonant frequencies are from 6.8 to 20 MHz,much lower than the theoretical values.Based on the simulation,it is found that over-etching is one of the important factors which results in lower frequencies than the theoretical values.It is also found that the difference between resonance frequencies of two types of resonators decreases with the increase in beam length.The quality factor is improved greatly by lowering the pressure in the sample chamber at room temperature.

Carbon nanotube-based nanoelectromechanical resonatoras mass biosensor

The use of single walled carbon nanotube-based nanoelectromechanical system(NEMS)resonator to sense the biomolecules'mass is investigated under the influence of an external ac-field.A single walled carbon nanotube(SWCNT)cantilever has been proposed and studied if the mass is attached at the tip or various intermediate positions.The shift of the resonant frequency and the quality factor have been investigated and show high sensitivity to the attached mass of biomolecule and its position.The proposed SWCNT-based NEMS resonator is a good candidate for sensing and tracing biomolecules'mass as concentration of acetone in human exhale,resulting in a painless,correct,and simple diabetics'diagnosis.

Electrically tunable optical metasurfaces

Optical metasurfaces have emerged as a groundbreaking technology in photonics,offering unparalleled control over light-matter interactions at the subwavelength scale with ultrathin surface nanostructures and thereby giving birth to flat optics.While most reported optical metasurfaces are static,featuring well-defined optical responses determined by their compositions and configurations set during fabrication,dynamic optical metasurfaces with reconfigurable functionalities by applying thermal,electrical,or optical stimuli have become increasingly more in demand and moved to the forefront of research and development.Among various types of dynamically controlled metasurfaces,electrically tunable optical metasurfaces have shown great promise due to their fast response time,low power consumption,and compatibility with existing electronic control systems,offering unique possibilities for dynamic tunability of light–matter interactions via electrical modulation.Here we provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art design methodologies and technologies explored in this rapidly evolving field.Our work delves into the fundamental principles of electrical modulation,various materials and mechanisms enabling tunability,and representative applications for active light-field manipulation,including optical amplitude and phase modulators,tunable polarization optics and wavelength filters,and dynamic waveshaping optics,including holograms and displays.The review terminates with our perspectives on the future development of electrically triggered optical metasurfaces.

Nanoelectromechanical resonant narrow-band amplifiers

This study demonstrates amplification of electrical signals using a very simple nanomechanical device.It is shown that vibration amplitude amplification using a combination of mechanical resonance and thermal-piezoresistive energy pumping,which was previously demonstrated to drive self-sustained mechanical oscillation,can turn the relatively weak piezoresistivity of silicon into a viable electronic amplification mechanism with power gains of 420 dB.Various functionalities ranging from frequency selection and timing to sensing and actuation have been successfully demonstrated for microscale and nanoscale electromechanical systems.Although such capabilities complement solid-state electronics,enabling state-of-the-art compact and high-performance electronics,the amplification of electronic signals is an area where micro-/nanomechanics has not experienced much progress.In contrast to semiconductor devices,the performance of the proposed nanoelectromechanical amplifier improves significantly as the dimensions are reduced to the nanoscale presenting a potential pathway toward deep-nanoscale electronics.The nanoelectromechanical amplifier can also address the need for ultranarrow-band filtering along with the amplification of lowpower signals in wireless communications and certain sensing applications,which is another need that is not efficiently addressable using semiconductor technology.

Pull-in Instability Analysis of Nanoelectromechanical Rectangular Plates Including the Intermolecular, Hydrostatic, and Thermal Actuations Using an Analytical Solution Methodology

The current paper presents a thorough study on the pull-in instability of nanoelectromechanical rectangular plates under intermolecular, hydrostatic, and thermal actuations. Based on the Kirchhoff theory along with Eringen's nonlocal elasticity theory, a nonclassical model is developed. Using the Galerkin method(GM), the governing equation which is a nonlinear partial differential equation(NLPDE) of the fourth order is converted to a nonlinear ordinary differential equation(NLODE) in the time domain. Then, the reduced NLODE is solved analytically by means of the homotopy analysis method. At the end, the effects of model parameters as well as the nonlocal parameter on the deflection, nonlinear frequency, and dynamic pull-in voltage are explored.

Quantum Transport through a Rigidly Connected Double Quantum-Dot Shuttle

We design a double quantum-dot （QD） shuttle （DQDS） model including two rigidly connected QDs that are softly linked to two leads via deformable organic materiaJs. Based on the full quantum mechanical approaches we explore the influences on the electron transport induced by the electrical and mechanical degrees of freedom. First of a/l the modified rate equations of the DQDS are derived theoretically and then a numerical investigation on the quantum transport through the DQDS is performed. For the classical DQDS, the time-dependent evolutions of the electron- occupation probabilities and the currents flowing through the DQDS show the periodic oscillations with their periods determined by the oscillation period of the DQDS. Both the mechanical oscillation amplitude and the interdot coupling can play crucial roles in adjusting the peak shapes of the currents and the probabilities. For the quantum DQDS, the current and electron-occupation probabilities of the DQDS evolve into a stationary state as time goes on, with no periodical oscillations observed. As a consequence, the sharp differences of the time-dependent properties between the c/assica/ and quantum DQDS systems are clearly demonstrated, which should be greatly helpful in designing new nanoelectromechanical devices. Also, this work is of great significance to understanding the kind of rigidly connected QD shuttle systems that have more than two QDs.

Hexagonal boron nitride nanomechanical resonators with spatially visualized motion

Atomic layers of hexagonal boron nitride(h-BN)crystal are excellent candidates for structural materials as enabling ultrathin,two-dimensional(2D)nanoelectromechanical systems(NEMS)due to the outstanding mechanical properties and very wide bandgap(5.9 eV)of h-BN.In this work,we report the experimental demonstration of h-BN 2D nanomechanical resonators vibrating at high and very high frequencies(from~5 to~70 MHz),and investigations of the elastic properties of h-BN by measuring the multimode resonant behavior of these devices.First,we demonstrate a dry-transferred doubly clamped h-BN membrane with~6.7 nm thickness,the thinnest h-BN resonator known to date.In addition,we fabricate circular drumhead h-BN resonators with thicknesses ranging from~9 to 292 nm,from which we measure up to eight resonance modes in the range of~18 to 35 MHz.Combining measurements and modeling of the rich multimode resonances,we resolve h-BN’s elastic behavior,including the transition from membrane to disk regime,with built-in tension ranging from 0.02 to 2 N m−1.The Young’s modulus of h-BN is determined to be EY≈392 GPa from the measured resonances.The ultrasensitive measurements further reveal subtle structural characteristics and mechanical properties of the suspended h-BN diaphragms,including anisotropic built-in tension and bulging,thus suggesting guidelines on how these effects can be exploited for engineering multimode resonant functions in 2D NEMS transducers.