Mechanical resonances are used in a wide variety of devices, from smartphone accelerometers to computer clocks and from wireless filters to atomic force microscopes. Frequency stability, a critical performance metric, is generally assumed to be tantamount to resonance quality factor (the inverse of the linewidth and of the damping). We show that the frequency stability of resonant nanomechanical sensors can be improved by lowering the quality factor. At high bandwidths, quality-factor reduction is completely mitigated by increases in signal-to-noise ratio. At low bandwidths, notably, increased damping leads to better stability and sensor resolution, with improvement proportional to damping. We confirm the findings by demonstrating temperature resolution of 60 microkelvin at 300-hertz bandwidth. These results open the door to high-performance ultrasensitive resonators in gaseous or liquid environments, single-cell nanocalorimetry, nanoscale gas chromatography, atmospheric-pressure nanoscale mass spectrometry, and new approaches in crystal oscillator stability.

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Harnessing the full complexity of optical fields requires complete control of all degrees-of-freedom within a region of space and time -an open goal for present-day spatial light modulators (SLMs), active metasurfaces, and optical phased arrays. Here, we solve this challenge with a programmable photonic crystal cavity array enabled by four key advances: (i) near-unity vertical coupling to high-finesse microcavities through inverse design, (ii) scalable fabrication by optimized, 300 mm full-wafer processing, (iii) picometer-precision resonance alignment using automated, closed-loop "holographic trimming", and (iv) out-of-plane cavity control via a high-speed µLED array. Combining each, we demonstrate near-complete spatiotemporal control of a 64-resonator, two-dimensional SLM with nanosecond-and femtojoule-order switching. Simultaneously operating wavelength-scale modes near the space-and time-bandwidth limits, this work opens a new regime of programmability at the fundamental limits of multimode optical control.

On-chip nano-optomechanical systems (NOMS) have demonstrated a zeptogram-level mass sensitivity and are promising candidates for low-cost implementations in areas such as metabolite quantitation and chemical analysis. High responsivity and sensitivity call for substantial optomechanical coupling and cavity finesse, resulting in detuning-dependent stiffness and mechanical damping via optomechanical back-action. Since mass loading (or temperature or force change) can alter both mechanical and cavity properties, mechanical frequency shifts induced by loading can encompass both effects. Precision sensing requires understanding and quantifying the source of the frequency tuning. Here, we show the deconvolution of direct loading and optomechanical stiffness change on the mechanical eigenfrequency as a function of detuning for a nano-optomechanical sensor in gaseous sensing experiments. Responses were generally dominated by shifts in optical stiffness and resulted in a mass loading signal amplification by as much as a factor of 2.5. This establishes an alternative possible route toward better mass sensitivity in NOMS while confirming the importance of incorporating optical stiffness effects for precision mass sensing.