Invited Paper MN-MoA1
Electromechanical Resonators from Graphene Sheets

Monday, October 15, 2007, 2:00 pm, Room 615

We fabricate nanoelectromechanical systems from single and multilayer graphene sheets by mechanically exfoliating graphite over trenches in SiO2. Vibrations with fundamental resonant frequencies in the MHz range are actuated either optically or electrically and detected optically by interferometry. The thinnest resonator consists of a single suspended layer of atoms and represents the ultimate limit of two dimensional nanoelectromechanical systems. The high Young's modulus (E = 1 TPa), extremely low mass (single layer of atoms), and large surface area make these resonators ideally suited for use as mass, force, and charge sensors. We will discuss recent work on nanochambers sealed with graphene membranes. The pressure of the gas inside the nanochamber determines the pressure and damping of the graphene resonator.