Mode coupling, bi-stability, and spectral broadening in buckled nanotube resonators

Abstract

Bi-stable mechanical resonators play a significant role in various applications, such as sensors, memory elements, and quantum computing. While carbon nanotube (CNT) based resonators have been widely investigated as promising nano electro-mechanical devices, a bi-stable CNT resonator has never been demonstrated. Here, we report a new class of CNT resonators in which the nanotube is buckled upward. We show that a small upward buckling yields record electrical frequency tunability, whereas larger buckling can achieve Euler-Bernoulli (EB) bi-stability, the smallest mechanical resonator with two stable configurations to date. We believe that these recently discovered CNT devices will open new avenues for realizing nano-sensors, mechanical memory elements and parametric amplifiers. Furthermore, we present a three-dimensional theoretical analysis revealing significant nonlinear coupling between the in-plane and out-of-plane static and dynamic modes of motion, and a unique three-dimensional EB snap-through transition. We utilize this coupling to provide a conclusive explanation for the low quality factor in CNT resonators at room temperature, key in understanding dissipation mechanisms at the nano scale.

References in corpus (14)

• A tunable carbon nanotube electromechanical oscillator
• A Mechanical Mass Sensor with Yoctogram Resolution
• Nonlinear damping in mechanical resonators based on graphene and carbon nanotubes
• Mechanical systems in the quantum regime
• Ultrasensitive force detection with a nanotube mechanical resonator
• Quantum transport in carbon nanotubes
• Strong coupling between single-electron tunneling and nano-mechanical motion
• Dynamic manipulation of mechanical resonators in the high amplitude regime through optical backaction
• Strong coupling between mechanical modes in a nanotube resonator
• Entropic Spectral Broadening in Carbon Nanotube Resonators
• Coupling carbon nanotube mechanics to a superconducting circuit
• Symmetry breaking in a mechanical resonator made from a carbon nanotube
• Observation of decoherence in a carbon nanotube mechanical resonator
• Full Electrostatic Control of Nanomechanical Buckling

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Nanomechanical Resonators: Toward Atomic Scale
• DC Signature of snap-through bi-stability in carbon nanotube resonators
• Hidden vibrational bistability revealed by intrinsic fluctuations of a carbon nanotube
• Purcell-enhanced optical refrigeration
• Optomechanical coupling and damping of a carbon nanotube quantum dot
• Nanomechanical vibrational response from electrical mixing measurements