Silicon carbide (SiC) top-down nanowire electromechanical resonators

We report experimental realization of very thin suspended SiC nanowires (NWs), with widths as small as 20 nm, via top-down lithography-nanomachining processes. This enables very high frequency (VHF) nanoscale electromechanical resonators with remarkable performance (e.g., resonance frequency f₀~100 MHz, and quality factor Q>1000) at room temperature. Radio-frequency (RF) characterization of these resonators is achieved by engineering efficient magnetomotive signal transduction into a new compact apparatus, and by enhancing capacitive detection with impedance-matching circuits. Novel designs of top-down SiC NWs with multiple coupling gates lead to demonstrations of devices with versatile and advanced functions in both resonant and static operations.