Transduction

Abstract

The efficient transduction of nanomechanical resonators is quintessential for any practical application. In the context of this book, transduction refers to the translation of mechanical motion to an electrical signal and vice versa for detection and actuation, respectively. In this chapter the most common underlying physical transducing mechanisms are quickly introduced. Most of these mechanisms are of an electrical nature, such as electrodynamic, electrostatic, thermoelastic, piezoresistive, or piezoelectric transduction. Nanomechanical resonators transduced with one of these techniques are therefore known as nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). But it is also common practice to transduce nanomechanical resonators by optic means. The full optic transduction and control of nanomechanical resonators is, e.g., employed in the field of cavity optomechanics.