Science Daily May 22, 2024
High-aspect-ratio mechanical resonators are pivotal in precision sensing. However, fabrication challenges and high computational costs have limited the length-to-thickness ratio of these devices. An international team of researchers (The Netherlands, USA – Brown University) developed nanomechanical resonators that extend centimeters in length yet retain nanometer thickness. They expanded the design to include more computationally intensive centimeter-scale design optimization. Their approach ensured high-yield realization, experimentally confirming room-temperature quality factors close to theoretical predictions. According to the researchers synergy between nanofabrication, design optimization guided by machine learning, and precision engineering opens a solid-state path to room-temperature quality factors approaching 10 billion at kilohertz mechanical frequencies – comparable to the performance of leading cryogenic resonators and levitated nanospheres, even under significantly less stringent temperature and vacuum conditions… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
High-aspect-ratio mechanical resonators. Credit: Nature Communications volume 15, Article number: 4255 (2024)