A. San Paulo

Imaging mechanical vibrations in suspended graphene sheets.

We carried out measurements on nanoelectromechanical systems based on multilayer graphene sheets suspended over trenches in silicon oxide. The motion of the suspended sheets was electrostatically driven at resonance using applied radio frequency voltages. The mechanical vibrations were detected using a novel form of scanning probe microscopy, which allowed identification and spatial imaging of the shape of the mechanical eigenmodes. In as many as half the resonators measured, we observed a new class of exotic nanoscale vibration eigenmodes not predicted by the elastic beam theory, where the amplitude of vibration is maximum at the free edges. By modeling the suspended sheets with the finite element method, these edge eigenmodes are shown to be the result of nonuniform stress with remarkably large magnitudes (up to 1.5 GPa). This nonuniform stress, which arises from the way graphene is prepared by pressing or rubbing bulk graphite against another surface, should be taken into account in future studies on electronic and mechanical properties of graphene.

Mechanical detection of carbon nanotube resonator vibrations.

Bending-mode vibrations of carbon nanotube resonators were mechanically detected in air at atmospheric pressure by means of a novel scanning force microscopy method. The fundamental and higher order bending eigenmodes were imaged at up to 3.1 GHz with subnanometer resolution in vibration amplitude. The resonance frequency and the eigenmode shape of multiwall nanotubes are consistent with the elastic beam theory for a doubly clamped beam. For single-wall nanotubes, however, resonance frequencies are significantly shifted, which is attributed to fabrication generating, for example, slack. The effect of slack is studied by pulling down the tube with the tip, which drastically reduces the resonance frequency.

Silicon nanowire arrays as thermoelectric material for a power microgenerator

A novel design of a silicon-based thermoelectric power microgenerator is presented in this work. Arrays of silicon nanowires, working as thermoelectric material, have been integrated in planar uni-leg thermocouple microstructures to convert waste heat into electrical energy. Homogeneous, uniformly dense, well-oriented and size-controlled arrays of silicon nanowires have been grown by chemical vapor deposition using the vapor–liquid–solid mechanism. Compatibility issues between the nanowire growth method and microfabrication techniques, such as electrical contact patterning, are discussed. Electrical measurements of the nanowire array electrical conductivity and the Seebeck voltage induced by a controlled thermal gradient or under harvesting operation mode have been carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the microdevice. A resistance of 240 Ω at room temperature was measured for an array of silicon nanowires 10 µm -long, generating a Seebeck voltage of 80 mV under an imposed thermal gradient of 450 °C, whereas only 4.5 mV were generated under a harvesting operation mode. From the results presented, a Seebeck coefficient of about 150–190 µV K−1 was estimated, which corresponds to typical values for bulk silicon.

Horizontally patterned Si nanowire growth for nanomechanical devices

We report a method to pattern horizontal vapor-liquid-solid growth of Si nanowires at vertical sidewalls of Si microstructures. The method allows one to produce either single nanowire structures or well-ordered nanowire arrays with predefined growth positions, thus enabling a practical development of nanomechanical devices that exploit the singular properties of Si nanowires. In particular, we demonstrate the fabrication of doubly clamped nanowire resonators and resonator arrays whose mechanical resonances can be measured by optical or electrical readout. We also show that the fabrication method enables the electrical readout of the resonant mode splitting of nanowire resonators in the VHF range, which allows the application of such an effect for enhanced nanomechanical sensing with nanowire resonators.

Optical back-action in silicon nanowire resonators: bolometric versus radiation pressure effects

We study optical back-action effects associated with confined electromagnetic modes in silicon nanowire resonators interacting with a laser beam used for interferometric read-out of the nanowire vibrations. Our analysis describes the resonance frequency shift produced in the nanowires by two different mechanisms: the temperature dependence of the nanowires Youngs modulus and the effect of radiation pressure. We find different regimes in which each effect dominates depending on the nanowire morphology and dimensions, resulting in either positive or negative frequency shifts. Our results also show that in some cases bolometric and radiation pressure effects can have opposite contributions so that their overall effect is greatly reduced. We conclude that Si nanowire resonators can be engineered for harnessing back-action effects for either optimizing frequency stability or exploiting dynamic phenomena such as parametric amplification.

Imaging cobalt nanoparticles by amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy: comparison between low and high amplitude solutions.

In many situations of interest amplitude modulation AFM is characterized by the coexistence of two solutions with different physical properties. Here, we compare the performance of those solutions in the imaging of cobalt nanoparticles. We show that imaging with the high amplitude solution implies an irreversible deformation of the nanoparticles while repeated imaging with the low solution does not produce noticeable changes in the nanoparticles. Theoretical simulations show that the maximum tip-surface force in the high amplitude solution is about 14nN while in the low amplitude solution is about -4nN. We attribute the differences in the high and low amplitude images to the differences in the exerted forces on the sample.

Surface characterization of III–V heteroepitaxial systems by laser light scattering

Abstract With the aim of a better understanding of in situ laser light scattering measurements, we report a detailed study of some typical surface morphologies which appear during molecular beam epitaxy growth of III–V compounds by means of ex situ angle-resolved light scattering characterization. The power spectral density of a cross-hatched surface is reconstructed from scattered intensity and the periodicity values obtained are in good agreement with atomic force microscopy data. The presence of quantum dots on the surface is analyzed and limitation for quantum dots detection due to oval defects is considered. We also consider possible in situ configurations in order to avoid this restriction.

Tuning piezoresistive transduction in nanomechanical resonators by geometrical asymmetries

The effect of geometrical asymmetries on the piezoresistive transduction in suspended double clamped beam nanomechanical resonators is investigated. Tapered silicon nano-beams, fabricated using a fast and flexible prototyping method, are employed to determine how the asymmetry affects the transduced piezoresistive signal for different mechanical resonant modes. This effect is attributed to the modulation of the strain in pre-strained double clamped beams, and it is confirmed by means of finite element simulations.

Critical size for localization of the L-like conduction states in InAs quantum dots grown on GaAs

The localization of the L-like conduction states is found to change from the islands to the substrate in InAs quantum dots grown on GaAs as the island-size decreases. This is due to a size-induced modification of the strain state of the islands. The critical size should correspond to dislocation formation. As a result, small InAs islands coherently strained to GaAs exhibit optical properties markedly different from those of bulk InAs.