| AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Division | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session NS+2D+AN+MN+MP+SE-WeM |
| Session: | Micro, Nano and Opto Mechanics |
| Presenter: | Christopher Wallin, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology |
| Authors: | C.B. Wallin, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology N. Dick, Tel Aviv University, Israel R. De Alba, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology D.A. Westly, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology S. Grutzik, Sandia National Laboratories A.T. Zehnder, Cornell University R.H. Rand, Cornell University V.A. Aksyuk, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology S. Krylov, Tel Aviv University, Israel B.R. Ilic, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The collective behavior of nonlinear, coupled micro- and nano-electromechanical (M/NEMS) resonators has been shown to exhibit a host of nontrivial dynamics including abrupt pattern switching, multistability, hysteresis, intrinsically localized modes, and synchronization. Additionally, M/NEMS resonator arrays are extremely responsive to environmental perturbations making them excellent candidates for sensing applications when operated linearly. With our work, we investigate the collective dynamics of coplanar interdigitated arrays of prismatic microcantilevers operating in both the nonlinear and linear regimes.
Two opposing, partially interdigitated cantilever arrays with 100 cantilevers apiece were fabricated using a silicon‑on‑insulator wafer. The device consists of a unique geometry in which each array has cantilever lengths expanding linearly across the device in opposite directions giving a distribution of natural frequencies. The arrays were engineered to allow for large scale, nonlinear out-of-plane beam deflections through the removal of the entire silicon handle layer beneath the active array area.
For sufficiently large drive amplitudes, the resonators begin oscillating via combination parametric resonance (CPR) across the entire array. The CPR driven oscillations occur across a broad frequency band. The tunable coupling between nearest-neighbor cantilevers through fringing electrostatic fields provides a mechanism to vary the CPR response. Due to the sizable deflections, the device’s nonlinearities are apparent including hysteresis effects. Our experimental results are supported and expanded by the development of a reduced order model based on the Galerkin decomposition which generates the leading features of our data including the CPR band.
When operating in the linear regime, the natural modes of the array have localized characteristics whereby a limited number of beams oscillate at each of the natural mode frequencies. Operating the device at higher harmonics increases mode separation as the propagation bands stretch. The distinct resonant peak separation coupled with the spatially confined modal response make higher harmonic operation of tailored, variable length cantilever arrays well suited for a variety of resonant based sensing applications.