Tunable, Dual-Gate, Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) Nanoelectromechanical Resonators

Resonant nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) have the potential to have significant impact in mass sensing, signal processing, and field detection applications, if the challenges associated with processing, material, and geometric variability can be mitigated. The research presented here details a breakthrough in the design and development of resonant NEMS aimed at addressing these challenges. Specifically, this study details the fabrication, characterization, and tuning of dual-gate silicon nanoelectromechanical resonators, which are transduced electrostatically and realized with close to 100% yield. These devices are fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate using only top-down microfabrication techniques and can be easily integrated with SOI-CMOS transistors, enabling the development of fully integrated CMOS-NEMS with highly tunable nonlinear frequency response characteristics.