Browsing by Subject "Nanomechanics"
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Item Open Access Atomic force microscopy: Methods and applications(Elsevier, 2017) Baykara, Mehmet Z.; Schwarz, U. D.; Lindon, J.; Tranter, G. E.; Koppenaal, D.This chapter provides an overview of atomic force microscopy, covering the fundamental aspects of the associated instrumentation and methodology as well as representative results from the literature highlighting a variety of application areas. In particular, atomic-resolution imaging and spectroscopy capabilities are emphasized, in addition to applications in biology, nanotribology and catalysis research. Finally, an outlook on emerging aspects and future prospects of atomic force microscopy is provided.Item Open Access Design, fabrication, and applications of electrostatically buckled nanomechanical systems(Bilkent University, 2018-08) Erbil, Selçuk OğuzBuckling is an important resource for memory and sensing applications at the micro- and nano-scale. Although di erent approaches have been developed to access buckling, such as the use of pre-stressed beams or thermal heating, none of them can dynamically and precisely control the critical bifurcation parameter |the compressive stress on the nanobeam| while keeping the heat generation and power dissipation at levels acceptable for real-life applications. Here, we develop an all-electrostatic architecture to control the compressive force, as well as the direction and amount of buckling, without heat generation. The devices, consisting of contact pads, comb-drive and beam, have been fabricated on Silicon on Insulator (SOI) chip by using micro-/nano-fabrication techniques. With this architecture, we demonstrated fundamental aspects of device function and dynamics. By applying signal voltages as low as 0.5 V, we controlled the direction of buckling to store binary information. Lateral de ections as large as 12% of the beam length were achieved, allowing nanomechanical manipulations at large deformations. We performed fatigue tests on the device which showed no discernible damage even after 10,000 buckling cycles. By modulating the compressive stress and lateral electrostatic force acting on the beam, we tuned the potential energy barrier between the post-bifurcation stable states and observed persistent transitions between the states. The proposed architecture, in this work, opens avenues for developing DC-controlled multibit nanomechanical logic gates, nano-manipulators, switches, and for studying the relationship between entropy and information.Item Open Access Design, fabrication, and applications of multi-mode nanoelectromechanical systems(Bilkent University, 2017-07) Arı, Atakan BekirMiniaturization of systems allowed wide spread consumer use of microelectronics, integrated circuits and MEMS based sensors. Thanks to the advancement in microfabrication methods, it is possible to build structures with submicron dimensions. The integration of electronic control to these submicron structures started the NEMS eld. Due to their minuscule dimensions and very high frequency response, NEMS can sense external perturbations with unprecedented sensitivity. This made NEMS excellent candidates for sensor applications. NEMS are starting to evolve from academic research tools to become mass produced and large scale integrated sensing devices. Information extracted from the higher order modes further increase the capabilities of NEMS. In order to attain this extra information, we fabricated NEMS that can reach higher order mechanical modes. Every step of fabrication was done at Bilkent University research facilities such as UNAM and ARL. To pattern the submicron feature sizes, we relied on electron beam lithography. Thermal and electron beam evaporators were deployed for metallization of contacts and etch mask. In order to suspend the doubly clamped beams, we developed anisotropic silicon nitride and isotropic silicon dry etch recipes. At each step of the fabrication, tools such as SEM and stylus pro lometer was utilized for characterization. Fabricated NEMS were wirebonded to printed circuit boards for detection. Electrothermal actuation, an integrated method, was chosen to drive the nanomechanical resonator to its higher order modes. Piezoresistive down-mixing, another integrated method to complement the actuation, was used to detect the resulting nanomechanical motion. We used high frequency electronic equipment to detect RF range responses of our NEMS. Using these NEMS, we studied two novel applications on intermodal and mechanical coupling. First, we investigated intermodal coupling e ect of doubly clamped beams in order utilize this coupling e ect in higher order mode detection. When a doubly clamped beam is excited at its resonance frequency, every other mode of the device gets tuned. This occurs due to the clamping on both sides preventing longitudinal elongation and causing a stress on the beam. Using intermodal coupling method, we probed higher order modes of a nanomechanical resonator while tracking the fundamental frequency at the same time. We were able to detect mechanical modes up to 840 MHz, well out of the detection limit of our setup. We propose intermodal coupling as a novel detection method to acquire frequency response of NEMS at higher order modes which can not be detected with conventional methods. Finally, we studied nano scale energy sinks that absorb energy from a another structure. Energy sinks are linear oscillators that can trap the energy of a nearby structure within their phase space. When the natural frequency of these sinks are distributed optimally, nite number of sinks can mimic absorption of in nite sinks. We envisioned a real time dissipation controlled NEMS platform by deploying energy sinks. In order to test energy sink performance at nano scale, we devised an experimental setup, comparing identical nanomechanical resonators with and without energy sinks. We have shown that energy sinks successfully absorb energy of a resonator at nanoscale.Item Open Access Direct measurement of interatomic force gradients using an ultra-low-amplitude atomic force microscope(The Royal Society Publishing, 2001) Hoffmann, P. M.; Oral, A.; Grimble, R. A.; Özer, H. Ö.; Jeffery, S.; Pethica, J. B.Interatomic force gradients between a W tip and a 7 × 7 reconstructed Si(111) surface were measured using an off-resonance, ultra-low-amplitude atomic force microscope (AFM) technique. The amplitudes used were less than 1 Å (peak-to-peak), which allowed direct measurement of the interaction force gradients as a function of separation. The force gradient curves are shown to consist of an attractive van der Waals part and short-range attractive and repulsive interactions. The van der Waals background can be subtracted, leaving a short-range interaction with an energy parameter of 1.9-3.4 eV and an interaction length-scale of 0.54-1.26 Å, characteristic of a single atomic bond. This correlates well with our observation of single-atom resolved force gradient images. In general, the interaction is reversible up to the zero intercept of the force gradient (inflection point of the energy). Beyond this point hysteresis tends to be observed and the onset of inelastic deformation can be clearly discerned. An analysis of the atomic scale contact gives reasonable values for the interfacial energy, yield strength, and the energy per atom needed to initiate plastic deformation.Item Open Access Linear measurements of nanomechanical phenomena using small-amplitude AFM(Materials Research Society, 2004) Hoffmann, P. M.; Patil, S.; Matei, G.; Tanülkü, A.; Grimble, R.; Özer, Ö.; Jeffery, S.; Oral, Ahmet; Pethica, J.Dynamic Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is typically performed at amplitudes that are quite large compared to the measured interaction range. This complicates the data interpretation as measurements become highly non-linear. A new dynamic AFM technique in which ultra-small amplitudes are used (as low as 0.15 Angstrom) is able to linearize measurements of nanomechanical phenomena in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and in liquids. Using this new technique we have measured single atom bonding, atomic-scale dissipation and molecular ordering in liquid layers, including water.Item Open Access Nanomechanical measurement of the Brownian force noise in a viscous liquid(American Chemical Society, 2020) Arı, A. B.; Hanay, Mehmet Selim; Paul, M. R.; Ekinci, K. L.We study the frequency spectrum of the thermal force giving rise to Brownian motion of a nanomechanical beam resonator in a viscous liquid. In the first set of experiments, we measure the power spectral density (PSD) of the position fluctuations of the resonator around its fundamental mode at its center. Then, we measure the frequency-dependent linear response of the resonator, again at its center, by driving it with a harmonic force that couples well to the fundamental mode. These two measurements allow us to determine the PSD of the Brownian force noise acting on the structure in its fundamental mode. The PSD of the force noise from multiple resonators spanning a broad frequency range displays a “colored spectrum” and follows the dissipation of a blade oscillating in a viscous liquid—by virtue of the fluctuation–dissipation theorem of statistical mechanics.Item Open Access Nanomechanical motion transducers for miniaturized mechanical systems(MDPI AG, 2017) Kouh, T.; Hanay, M. S.; Ekinci, K. L.Reliable operation of a miniaturized mechanical system requires that nanomechanical motion be transduced into electrical signals (and vice versa) with high fidelity and in a robust manner. Progress in transducer technologies is expected to impact numerous emerging and future applications of micro- and, especially, nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS); furthermore, high-precision measurements of nanomechanical motion are broadly used to study fundamental phenomena in physics and biology. Therefore, development of nanomechanical motion transducers with high sensitivity and bandwidth has been a central research thrust in the fields of MEMS and NEMS. Here, we will review recent progress in this rapidly-advancing area.Item Open Access Nanomechanics using an ultra-small amplitude AFM(Cambridge University Press, 2001) Hoffmann, P. M.; Jeffery, S.; Oral, Ahmet; Grimble, R. A.; Özer, H. Özgür; Pethica, J. B.A new type of AFM is presented which allows for direct measurements of nanomechanical properties in ultra-high vacuum and liquid environments. The AFM is also capable to atomic-scale imaging of force gradients. This is achieved by vibrating a stiff lever at very small amplitudes of less than 1 Å (peak-to-peak) at a sub-resonance amplitude. This linearizes the measurement and makes the interpretation of the data straight-forward. At the atomic scale, interaction force gradients are measured which are consistent with the observation of single atomic bonds. Also, atomic scale damping is observed which rapidly rises with the tip-sample separation. A mechanism is proposed to explain this damping in terms of atomic relaxation in the tip. We also present recent results in water where we were able to measure the mechanical response due to the molecular ordering of water close to an atomically flat surface.