Ultra Low Dissipation Silicon Nanowire Resonator Arrays for Scanning Probe Applications

Abstract

This work describes the fabrication and characterization of silicon nanowire oscillators for use in ultra-high sensitivity force detection. These structures are optimized for use as scanning probes by fabricating them at the edge of a chip, allowing for easy optical displacement detection. Two sets of nanowire samples are described, with mean diameters of 132 nm and 77 nm. The characterization of the mechanical properties of the nanowire, such as quality factor and resonant frequency, is done by optical interferometry. The thermomechanical noise-limited force sensitivity of these nanowires is recorded across a range of temperatures and reaches as low as 500±20 zN Hz^-1/2 at 4.2 K.