No Arabic abstract
Contactless characterization of mechanical resonances using Fabry-Perot interferometry is a powerful tool to study the mechanical and dynamical properties of atomically thin membranes. However, amplitude calibration is often not performed, or only possible by making assumptions on the device parameters such as its mass or the temperature. In this work, we demonstrate a calibration technique that directly measures the oscillation amplitude by detecting higher harmonics that arise from nonlinearities in the optical transduction. Employing this technique, we calibrate the resonance amplitude of two-dimensional nanomechanical resonators, without requiring knowledge of their mechanical properties, actuation force, geometric distances or the laser intensity.
We report radio frequency (rf) electrical readout of graphene mechanical resonators. The mechanical motion is actuated and detected directly by using a vector network analyzer, employing a local gate to minimize parasitic capacitance. A resist-free doubly clamped sample with resonant frequency ~ 34 MHz, quality factor ~ 10000 at 77 K, and signal-to-background ratio of over 20 dB is demonstrated. In addition to being over two orders of magnitude faster than the electrical rf mixing method, this technique paves the way for use of graphene in rf devices such as filters and oscillators.
We provide a detailed description of a general procedure by which a nano/micro-mechanical resonator can be calibrated using its thermal motion. A brief introduction to the equations of motion for such a resonator is presented, followed by a detailed derivation of the corresponding power spectral density (PSD) function. The effective masses for a number of different resonator geometries are determined using both finite element method (FEM) modeling and analytical calculations.
Carbon nanotubes and graphene allow fabricating outstanding nanomechanical resonators. They hold promise for various scientific and technological applications, including sensing of mass, force, and charge, as well as the study of quantum phenomena at the mesoscopic scale. Here, we have discovered that the dynamics of nanotube and graphene resonators is in fact highly exotic. We propose an unprecedented scenario where mechanical dissipation is entirely determined by nonlinear damping. As a striking consequence, the quality factor Q strongly depends on the amplitude of the motion. This scenario is radically different from that of other resonators, whose dissipation is dominated by a linear damping term. We believe that the difference stems from the reduced dimensionality of carbon nanotubes and graphene. Besides, we exploit the nonlinear nature of the damping to improve the figure of merit of nanotube/graphene resonators.
Coupled nanomechanical resonators are interesting for both fundamental studies and practical applications as they offer rich and tunable oscillation dynamics. At present, the mechanical coupling in such systems is often mediated by a fixed geometry, such as a joint clamping point of the resonators or a displacement-dependent force. Here we show a graphene-integrated electromechanical system consisting of two physically separated mechanical resonators -- a comb-drive actuator and a suspended silicon beam -- that are tunably coupled by a graphene membrane. The graphene membrane, moreover, provides a sensitive electrical read-out for the two resonating systems silicon structures showing 16 different modes in the frequency range from 0.4~to 24~MHz. In addition, by pulling on the graphene membrane with an electrostatic potential applied to one of the silicon resonators, we control the mechanical coupling, quantified by the $g$-factor, from 20 kHz to 100 kHz. Our results pave the way for coupled nanoelectromechanical systems requiring controllable mechanically coupled resonators.
Universal sensing the motion of mechanical resonators with high precision and low back-action is of paramount importance in ultra-weak signal detection which plays a fundamental role in modern physics. Here we present a universal scheme that transfer mechanically the motion of the resonator not directly measurable to the one can be precisely measured using mechanical frequency conversion. Demonstration of the scheme at room temperature shows that both the motion imprecision and the back-action force are below the intrinsic level of the objective resonator, which agree well with our theoretical prediction. The scheme developed here provides an effective interface between an arbitrary mechanical resonator and a high quantum efficient displacement sensor, and is expected to find extensive applications in high-demanding mechanical-based force measurements.