Efficient electrothermal actuation of multiple modes of high-frequency nanoelectromechanical resonators

The authors observed resonances from multiple vibrational modes of individual silicon-carbide-based nanomechanical resonators, covering a broad frequency range from several megahertz to over a gigahertz. The devices are actuated thermoelastically in vacuum at room temperature using localized Joule heating in a device-integrated metal loop. Their motion is detected piezoresistively using signal downmixing in a similarly integrated metal piezoresistor. The frequencies and amplitudes of the observed resonant peaks are in good agreement with the results from theoretical modeling and finite-element simulations

Tuning nonlinearity, dynamic range, and frequency of nanomechanical resonators

We explore an electrostatic mechanism for tuning the nonlinearity of nanomechanical resonators and increasing their dynamic range for sensor applications. We also demonstrate tuning the resonant frequency of resonators both upward and downward. A theoretical model is developed that qualitatively explains the experimental results and serves as a simple guide for design of tunable nanomechanical devices

Large-Scale Integration of Nanoelectromechanical Systems for Gas Sensing Applications

We have developed arrays of nanomechanical systems (NEMS) by large-scale integration, comprising thousands of individual nanoresonators with densities of up to 6 million NEMS per square centimeter. The individual NEMS devices are electrically coupled using a combined series-parallel configuration that is extremely robust with respect to lithographical defects and mechanical or electrostatic-discharge damage. Given the large number of connected nanoresonators, the arrays are able to handle extremely high input powers (>1 W per array, corresponding to <1 mW per nanoresonator) without excessive heating or deterioration of resonance response. We demonstrate the utility of integrated NEMS arrays as high-performance chemical vapor sensors, detecting a part-per-billion concentration of a chemical warfare simulant within only a 2 s exposure period

Numerical and Experimental Study on the Addition of Surface Roughness to Micro-Propellers

Micro aerial vehicles are making a large impact in applications such as search-and-rescue, package delivery, and recreation. Unfortunately, these diminutive drones are currently constrained to carrying small payloads, in large part because they use propellers optimized for larger aircraft and inviscid flow regimes. Fully realizing the potential of emerging microflyers requires next-generation propellers that are specifically designed for low-Reynolds number conditions and that include new features advantageous in highly viscous flows. One aspect that has received limited attention in the literature is the addition of roughness to propeller blades as a method of reducing drag and increasing thrust. To investigate this possibility, we used large eddy simulation to conduct a numerical investigation of smooth and rough propellers. Our results indicate that roughness produces a 2% increase in thrust and a 5% decrease in power relative to a baseline smooth propeller operating at the same Reynolds number of Rec = 6500, held constant by rotational speed. We corroborated our numerical findings using thrust-stand-based experiments of 3D-printed propellers identical to those of the numerical simulations. Our study confirms that surface roughness is an additional parameter within the design space for micro-propellers that will lead to unprecedented drone efficiencies and payloads.Comment: 23 Pages, 9 Figure

Entanglement transfer between bipartite systems

The problem of a controlled transfer of an entanglement initially encoded into two two-level atoms that are successively sent through two single-mode cavities is investigated. The atoms and the cavity modes form a four qubit system and we demonstrate under which conditions the initial entanglement encoded into the atoms can be completely transferred to other pairs of qubits. We find that in the case of a nonzero detuning between the atomic transition frequencies and the cavity mode frequencies, no complete transfer of the initial entanglement is possible to any of the other pairs of qubits. In the case of exact resonance and equal coupling strengths of the atoms to the cavity modes, an initial maximally entangled state of the atoms can be completely transferred to the cavity modes. The complete transfer of the entanglement is restricted to the cavity modes only with the transfer to the other pairs being limited to up to 50%. We have found that the complete transfer of an initial entanglement to other pairs of qubits may take place if the initial state is not the maximally entangled state and the atoms couple to the cavity modes with unequal strengths. Depending on the ratio between the coupling strengths, the optimal entanglement can be created between the atoms and one of the cavity modes.Comment: 3 figures. Oral talk presented in CEWQO 18, Madrid 201

Entanglement in Coupled Harmonic Oscillators via Unitary Transformation

We develop an approach to study the entanglement in two coupled harmonic oscillators. We start by introducing an unitary transformation to end up with the solutions of the energy spectrum. These are used to construct the corresponding coherent states through the standard way. To evaluate the degree of the entanglement between the obtained states, we calculate the purity function in terms of the coherent and number states, separately. The result is yielded to two parameters dependance of the purity, which can be controlled easily. Interesting results are derived by fixing the mixing angle of such transformation as \pi/2. We compare our results with already published work and point out the relevance of these findings to a systematic formulation of the entanglement effect in two coupled harmonic oscillators.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, clarification and reference added, misprints corrected. Version published in JSTA