Optical knife-edge technique for nanomechanical displacement detection

Karabacak, Devrez M.; Kouh, Taejoon; Huang, Ching Yuang; Ekinci, K. L.

doi:10.1063/1.2203513

Cited by 58 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Existing techniques widely used in MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) are being pursued with other NEMS resonators; among these are electrostatic 11,12 and piezoelectric 13 schemes for excitation and optical 11 and capacitive 12 schemes for detection. The efficiency of these schemes generally decreases substantially as we scale devices from the size regime of MEMS to that of NEMS.…”

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confidence: 99%

Very High Frequency Silicon Nanowire Electromechanical Resonators

et al. 2007

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We demonstrate very high frequency (VHF) nanomechanical resonators based upon single-crystal silicon nanowires (SiNWs), which are prepared by the bottom-up chemical synthesis. Metallized SiNW resonators operating near 200 MHz are realized with quality factor Q ≈ 2000−2500. Pristine SiNWs, with fundamental resonances as high as 215 MHz, are measured using a VHF readout technique that is optimized for these high resistance devices. The pristine resonators provide the highest Q's, as high as Q ≈ 13 100 for an 80 MHz device. SiNWs excel at mass sensing; characterization of their mass responsivity and frequency stability demonstrates sensitivities approaching 10 zeptograms. These SiNW resonators offer significant potential for applications in resonant sensing, quantum electromechanical systems, and high frequency signal processing.Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), particularly nanomechanical resonators vibrating at high frequencies, 1 are being actively explored for applications including resonant sensors for ultrahigh-resolution mass sensing, 2 force detection, 3 quantum electromechanics, 4 electromechanical signal generation and processing, 5 and high-speed logic and computation. 6 These NEMS resonators are usually made by topdown lithographic techniques and surface nanomachining, which together enable realization of nanomechanical devices with considerable complexity and functionality. By contrast, chemical-synthesis-based bottom-up approaches now provide nanowires with high crystalline quality, perfectly terminated surfaces, and sizes down to the molecular scale. These represent a new class of building blocks for NEMS resonators that offer unique attributes. Si nanowires (SiNWs) are, perhaps, among the most intriguing given silicon's preeminent role in micro-and nanoelectronics and as a structural material for micro-and nanoelectromechanical systems. Development of SiNW-NEMS, however, has been impeded by difficulties in suspending SiNWs to give them mechanical freedom and in subsequent device integration. Recently, a hybrid process has been developed to fabricate SiNWs suspended over microtrenches by employing vapor-liquidsolid (VLS) epitaxial growth.8 This device geometry facilitates the direct probing of mechanical properties of SiNWs via static deflection. 9,10 In this Letter, we describe the first demonstration of resonant mechanical devices operating at very high frequencies (VHF) that are based on such suspended SiNWs. We demonstrate robust SiNW resonators vibrating at frequencies greater than 200 MHz. Furthermore, comprehensive measurements of the resonance characteristics, quality factors, and resonator frequency stability show that these bottom-up SiNWs provide excellent performance. These devices expand and advance prospects for NEMS resonator technologies and enable new possibilities for applications. Parts a and b of Figure 1 show the typical suspended SiNWs in microtrenches. The detailed synthetic procedure via VLS epitaxial growth has been described in ref 8. Briefly, the SiNW begins cry...

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confidence: 99%

Very High Frequency Silicon Nanowire Electromechanical Resonators

et al. 2007

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“…In comparison, R 0 values in the range of 0.2 m −1 were reported recently for an optical technique applicable for in-plane vibration detection, 6 and 0.01 m −1 for an optical technique applicable for out-ofplane vibration detection. 7 Note that influences of beam bending were disregarded in the analysis of the responsivity.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…5 Optical motion detection techniques have the inherent advantage that optical signals can be communicated with very large bandwidth. [6][7][8] Unfortunately, for conventional optical techniques, diffraction effects limit the attainable detection limits when the mechanical devices are scaled. It has been anticipated that these issues can be overcome by integration of mechanical sensors with nanophotonics and by exploiting optical near-field effects.…”

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Detection of nanomechanical motion by evanescent light wave coupling

Vlaminck

Roels

Taillaert

et al. 2007

Applied Physics Letters

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The authors demonstrate a technique allowing sensitive nanomechanical motion detection based on the evanescent light wave coupling between two photonic nanowires. Any relative motion between the nanowires results in a change in light coupling, providing a means of registering motion. The in-plane vibrations of a 220 nmϫ 400 nmϫ 10 m nanomechanical resonator were recorded using this method. An analysis of the sensitivity reveals the potential of this integrated technique to provide fast and sensitive motion detection. © 2007 American Institute of Physics. ͓DOI: 10.1063/1.2746067͔ Nanoelectromechanical systems ͑NEMSs͒ have received great attention in recent years. Most research has focused on resonant devices for sensor applications. 1,2 Through scaling of the mechanical sensing element from the micron-to the nanoscale, researchers were able to improve the detection limits in force and mass sensing drastically. Devices sensitive enough to measure the magnetic moment of a single electron spin 3 or to perform zeptogram scale mass sensing 4 have resulted from efforts in scaling. A central problem in the development of even more sensitive mechanical sensors is the fast and high-precision detection of motion. In many cases, the performance of the sensor is restricted by the efficiency of the motion detection method employed, more so than by the inherent capabilities of the mechanical element. Much research has been devoted to solving this problem and a myriad of optical and electronic techniques has been developed. 5 Optical motion detection techniques have the inherent advantage that optical signals can be communicated with very large bandwidth. 6-8 Unfortunately, for conventional optical techniques, diffraction effects limit the attainable detection limits when the mechanical devices are scaled. It has been anticipated that these issues can be overcome by integration of mechanical sensors with nanophotonics and by exploiting optical near-field effects. 1,5 Recently, it was shown that motion of micron-scale devices can be monitored through changes in end-to-end alignment of optical waveguides. [9][10][11] In this letter, we propose an integrated and near-field optical motion detection technique that exploits near-field optical evanescent-wave coupling. We demonstrate that the technique works efficiently for nanoscale mechanical resonators, with greater sensitivity than conventional optical techniques.The approach offers potential for applications where robust and sensitive measurement of motion is required and applications requiring remote detection or detection of motion in harsh environments. The integration of the device with photonic circuitry reduces the complexity of addressing large arrays of devices.The detection of nanomechanical motion is achieved through the near-field coupling of light from a photonic waveguide to a mechanical resonator. The mechanical resonator acts as a photonic waveguide; when the evanescent tails of the guided modes of the resonator and waveguide overlap, photons tunnel from one wavegu...

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“…Most of the algorithms are based on the GerchbergSaxton method that iteratively relates two irradiance maps obtained at the plane of interest and also in the far field region. [11][12][13] In the MEMS arena, optical methods are routinely used as the displacement detection mechanism, [14][15][16] with the atomic force microscope probably the simplest and most well-known of these because it is based on the deflection of a light beam reflected by the cantilever itself. 17 The analysis of the stationary status of cantilevers using diffraction has been used previously to understand the individual position of each cantilever.…”

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confidence: 99%

Diffractive characterization of the vibrational state of an array of microcantilevers

et al. 2013

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Abstract. The vibrational state of an array of microcantilevers piezoelectrically excited has been characterized analyzing the far-field diffraction pattern produced by the structure. A model based on the definition of a complex reflectivity window has been developed to fully understand the dynamic of the elements and the diffraction pattern produced by them. This model is parameterized by the driving voltage of the excitation, the vibration mode, and the phase correlation among cantilevers. An experimental set-up has been developed to register the far-field diffraction patterns, avoiding some undesired reflections from the surrounding structures. The experimental results have been fitted with those obtained from the simulation. This fitting allows for identifying the vibration mode and the phase relation among cantilevers. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Optical knife-edge technique for nanomechanical displacement detection

Abstract: Articles you may be interested inNovel design and sensitivity analysis of displacement measurement system utilizing knife edge diffraction for nanopositioning stages Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85, 095113 (2014);

Cited by 58 publications

References 17 publications

Very High Frequency Silicon Nanowire Electromechanical Resonators

Very High Frequency Silicon Nanowire Electromechanical Resonators

Detection of nanomechanical motion by evanescent light wave coupling

Diffractive characterization of the vibrational state of an array of microcantilevers

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