Novel nanoelectromechanical systems for probing and exploiting nanomaterial properties

Furlanetto Ferrari, Paolo

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121937 Copy

Description

Title

Novel nanoelectromechanical systems for probing and exploiting nanomaterial properties

Author(s)

Furlanetto Ferrari, Paolo

Issue Date

2023-11-10

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

van der Zande, Arend M

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

van der Zande, Arend M

Committee Member(s)

• Tawfick, Sameh
• Johnson, Harley
• Fang, Kejie

Department of Study

Mechanical Sci & Engineering

Discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• MEMS
• NEMS
• 2D materials
• nanomaterials
• microsystems
• applied physics
• thin films
• metamaterials
• phonon
• phononic
• nanotechnology
• nanoscience
• graphene
• mechanics
• electromechanics
• optomechanics
• nanomechanics
• micromechanics
• vibrations
• acoustics
• nonlinear dynamics

Abstract

Micro and Nanoelectromechanical Systems (M/NEMS) have numerous applications in sensing and signal transduction. Many properties benefit from reducing the system size to the nanoscale, such as increased responsivity, enhanced tunability, lower power consumption, and higher spatial density. Two-dimensional (2D) materials represent the ultimate limit of thickness, offering unprecedented new capabilities due to their natural nanoscale dimensions, high stability, high mechanical strength and easy electronic integration. The main goal of this Thesis is to explore NEMS that either (i) exploit the exquisite properties of 2D and nano-film materials for new applications; or (ii) that can be used as a platform to probe some of these properties. With this goal in mind, first, utilizing graphene, we show how NEMS resonators can be used to probe the interlayer friction between 2D layers. We demonstrate that, even though the friction between the layers is ultimately small, it can drastically affect the dissipation. Secondly, again utilizing graphene, we show how the large nonlinear response of 2D resonators can be used to generate chaotic motion with much more tunability and frequency range compared to other MEMS-based techniques. In addition to graphene, we also explore thin-film silicon nitride for developing new NEMS. First, we show how buckling of the thin film drastically tunes the resonant frequency and nonlinear response of individual resonators. Expanding on this study, we show how buckling can be used to effectively control the transmission of waves in arrays of coupled resonators, also called a phononic waveguide. Making the analogy between metamaterials and crystalline materials, the results indicate that buckling strongly amplifies the degree of disorder in the system, resembling a phase transition. The results obtained in this Thesis can be generalized to many other NEMS platforms, expanding the range of capabilities of this technology.

Graduation Semester

2023-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2023 by Paolo Furlanetto Ferrari. All rights reserved.

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