Electrothermal Actuation of NEMS Resonators: Modeling and Experimental Validation

We study the electrothermal actuation of nanomechanical motion using a combination of numerical simulations and analytical solutions. The nanoelectrothermal actuator structure is a u-shaped gold nanoresistor that is patterned on the anchor of a doubly-clamped nanomechanical beam or a microcantilever resonator. This design has been used in recent experiments successfully. In our finite-element analysis (FEA) based model, our input is an ac current; we first calculate the temperature oscillations due to Joule heating using Ohm's Law and the heat equation; we then determine the thermally induced bending moment and the displacement profile of the beam by coupling the temperature field to Euler-Bernoulli beam theory with tension. Our model efficiently combines transient and frequency-domain analyses: we compute the temperature field using a transient approach and then impose this temperature field as a harmonic perturbation for determining the mechanical response in the frequency domain. This unique modeling method offers lower computational complexity and improved accuracy, and is faster than a fully transient FEA approach. Our dynamical model computes the temperature and displacement fields in time domain over a broad range of actuation frequencies and amplitudes. We validate the numerical results by directly comparing them with experimentally measured displacement amplitudes of NEMS beams around their eigenmodes in vacuum. Our model predicts a thermal time constant of 1.9 ns in vacuum for our particular structures, indicating that electrothermal actuation is efficient up to ~80 MHz. We also investigate the thermal response of the actuator when immersed in a variety of fluids

All-electrical monitoring of bacterial antibiotic susceptibility in a microfluidic device

The lack of rapid antibiotic susceptibility tests adversely affects the treatment of bacterial infections and contributes to increased prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Here, we describe an all-electrical approach that allows for ultrasensitive measurement of growth signals from only tens of bacteria in a microfluidic device. Our device is essentially a set of microfluidic channels, each with a nanoconstriction at one end and cross-sectional dimensions close to that of a single bacterium. Flowing a liquid bacteria sample (e.g., urine) through the microchannels rapidly traps the bacteria in the device, allowing for subsequent incubation in drugs. We measure the electrical resistance of the microchannels, which increases (or decreases) in proportion to the number of bacteria in the microchannels. The method and device allow for rapid antibiotic susceptibility tests in about 2 h. Further, the short-time fluctuations in the electrical resistance during an antibiotic susceptibility test are correlated with the morphological changes of bacteria caused by the antibiotic. In contrast to other electrical approaches, the underlying geometric blockage effect provides a robust and sensitive signal, which is straightforward to interpret without electrical models. The approach also obviates the need for a high-resolution microscope and other complex equipment, making it potentially usable in resource-limited settings.Accepted manuscrip

Nanomechanical Measurement of the Brownian Force Noise in a Viscous Liquid

Accepted manuscrip

Optimization of piezoresistive motion detection for ambient NEMS applications

Accepted manuscrip

Efficient and Sensitive Capacitive Readout of Nanomechanical Resonator Arrays NANO LETTERS

Here we describe all-electronic broadband motion detection in radio frequency nanomechanical resonators. Our technique relies upon the measurement of small motional capacitance changes using an LC impedance transformation network. We first demonstrate the technique on a single doubly clamped beam resonator with a side gate over a wide range of temperatures from 20 mK to 300 K. We then apply the technique to accomplish multiplexed readout of an array of individually addressable resonators, all embedded in a single high-frequency circuit. This technique may find use in a variety of applications ranging from ultrasensitive mass and force sensing to quantum information processing. Introduction. Nanotechnology derives its power from the unique and useful properties of devices engineered at tiny length scales. Among the most promising of these nanodevices are nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). 1 Because of their very small masses, high frequencies, lo