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Static capacitive pressure sensing using a single graphene drum

To realize nanomechanical graphene-based pressure and gas sensors, it is beneficial to have a method to electrically readout the static displacement of a suspended graphene membrane. Capacitive readout, typical in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), gets increasingly challenging as one starts shrinking the dimensions of these devices, since the expected responsivity of such devices is below 0.1 aF/Pa. To overcome the challenges of detecting small capacitance changes, we design an electrical readout device fabricated on top of an insulating quartz substrate, maximizing the contribution of the suspended membrane to the total capacitance of the device. The capacitance of the drum is further increased by reducing the gap size to 110 nm. Using external pressure load, we demonstrate successful detection of capacitance changes of a single graphene drum down to 50 aF, and pressure differences down to 25 mbar

Amplitude calibration of 2D mechanical resonators by nonlinear optical transduction

Contactless characterization of mechanical resonances using Fabry-Perot interferometry is a powerful tool to study the mechanical and dynamical properties of atomically thin membranes. However, amplitude calibration is often not performed, or only possible by making assumptions on the device parameters such as its mass or the temperature. In this work, we demonstrate a calibration technique that directly measures the oscillation amplitude by detecting higher harmonics that arise from nonlinearities in the optical transduction. Employing this technique, we calibrate the resonance amplitude of two-dimensional nanomechanical resonators, without requiring knowledge of their mechanical properties, actuation force, geometric distances or the laser intensity

Graphene Squeeze-Film Pressure Sensors

The operating principle of squeeze-film pressure sensors is based on the pressure dependence of a membrane's resonance frequency, caused by the compression of the surrounding gas which changes the resonator stiffness. To realize such sensors, not only strong and flexible membranes are required, but also minimization of the membrane's mass is essential to maximize responsivity. Here, we demonstrate the use of a few-layer graphene membrane as a squeeze-film pressure sensor. A clear pressure dependence of the membrane's resonant frequency is observed, with a frequency shift of 4 MHz between 8 and 1000 mbar. The sensor shows a reproducible response and no hysteresis. The measured responsivity of the device is 9000 Hz/mbar, which is a factor 45 higher than state-of-the-art MEMS-based squeeze-film pressure sensors while using a 25 times smaller membrane area

A Farmdalian Pollen Diagram From East-Central Iowa

Pollen analysis of the Butler Farm buried peat in east-central Iowa suggests that a spruce-pine forest grew in the area during the Farmdalian Substage. Pine decreased and spruce increased in dominance as the peat accumulated. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the peat was deposited from 28,800 to 22,750 RCYBP. It is overlain by late Wisconsinan loess and underlain by a Sangamon paleosol developed on Illinoian till. The regional pollen data suggest a general cooling trend through Farmdale time

Colorimetry technique for scalable characterization of suspended graphene

Previous statistical studies on the mechanical properties of chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) suspended graphene membranes have been performed by means of measuring individual devices or with techniques that affect the material. Here, we present a colorimetry technique as a parallel, non-invasive, and affordable way of characterizing suspended graphene devices. We exploit Newton rings interference patterns to study the deformation of a double-layer graphene drum 13.2 micrometer in diameter when a pressure step is applied. By studying the time evolution of the deformation, we find that filling the drum cavity with air is 2-5 times slower than when it is purged

Partnering with poetry: poetry in American education standards from 1971-2010

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Curriculum and InstructionF. Todd GoodsonAmerican education is increasingly driven by standards and high-stakes tests. This creates a dynamic in which curricular content addressed in the standards will be subjected to high-stakes tests while that not addressed in the standards risks being ignored. Such a dynamic threatens poetry—a subject whose strength resides in its ambiguity instead of one correct answer. The literature review establishes poetry as an important area of study for K-12 students and explores how the Standards Movement has affected poetry instruction in other English-speaking countries. This research used context-sensitive textual analysis to examine the treatment of poetry in American English language arts standards from 1971 to 2010 as demonstrated in the following three documents: (1) Representative Performance Objectives for High School English written by the Tri-University Project in 1971, (2) Standards for the English Language Arts written by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association in 1996, and (3) the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts written in 2010. Context-sensitive textual analysis (Huckin, 1992) presumes that the contexts in which texts are written and read impact their meanings. The study describes those impacts, their implications, and suggestions for continued study

Visualizing the motion of graphene nanodrums

Membranes of suspended two-dimensional materials show a large variability in mechanical properties, in part due to static and dynamic wrinkles. As a consequence, experiments typically show a multitude of nanomechanical resonance peaks, which makes an unambiguous identification of the vibrational modes difficult. Here, we probe the motion of graphene nanodrum resonators with spatial resolution using a phase-sensitive interferometer. By simultaneously visualizing the local phase and amplitude of the driven motion, we show that unexplained spectral features represent split degenerate modes. When taking these into account, the resonance frequencies up to the eighth vibrational mode agree with theory. The corresponding displacement profiles however, are remarkably different from theory, as small imperfections increasingly deform the nodal lines for the higher modes. The Brownian motion, which is used to calibrate the local displacement, exhibits a similar mode pattern. The experiments clarify the complicated dynamic behaviour of suspended two-dimensional materials, which is crucial for reproducible fabrication and applications