Squeeze-Film Effect on Atomically Thin Resonators in the High-Pressure Limit

The resonance frequency of membranes depends on the gas pressure due to the squeeze-film effect, induced by the compression of a thin gas film that is trapped underneath the resonator by the high-frequency motion. This effect is particularly large in low-mass graphene membranes, which makes them promising candidates for pressure-sensing...

Multi-layer graphene Pirani pressure sensors

The operating principle of Pirani pressure sensors is based on the pressure dependence of a suspended strip's electrical conductivity, caused by the thermal conductance of the surrounding gas which changes the Joule heating of the strip. To realize such sensors, not only materials with high temperature dependent electrical conductivity are...

Semi-permeability of graphene nanodrums in sucrose solution

Semi-permeable membranes are important elements in water purification and energy generation applications, for which the atomic thickness and strength of graphene can enhance efficiency and permeation rate while maintaining good selectivity. Here, we show that an osmotic pressure difference forms across a suspended graphene membrane as a...

Phonon scattering at kinks in suspended graphene

Recent experiments have shown surprisingly large thermal time constants in suspended graphene ranging from 10 to 100 ns in drums with a diameter ranging from 2 to 7 μm. The large time constants and their scaling with diameter points toward a thermal resistance at the edge of the drum. However, an explanation of the microscopic origin of this...

High-frequency gas effusion through nanopores in suspended graphene

Porous, atomically thin graphene membranes have interesting properties for filtration and sieving applications. Here, graphene membranes are used to pump gases through nanopores using optothermal forces, enabling the study of gas flow through nanopores at frequencies above 100 kHz. At these frequencies, the motion of graphene is closely...

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of acoustic phonons in suspended graphene

Recent theory has predicted large temperature differences between the in-plane [longitudinal (LA) and transverse (TA)] and out-of-plane [flexural (ZA)] acoustic phonon baths in locally heated suspended graphene. To verify these predictions, and their implications for understanding the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of two-dimensional (2D)...

High-frequency stochastic switching of graphene resonators near room temperature

Stochastic switching between the two bistable states of a strongly driven mechanical resonator enables detection of weak signals based on probability distributions, in a manner that mimics biological systems. However, conventional silicon resonators at the microscale require a large amount of fluctuation power to achieve a switching rate in the...

Mass measurement of graphene using quartz crystal microbalances

Current wafer-scale fabrication methods for graphene-based electronics and sensors involve the transfer of single-layer graphene by a support polymer. This often leaves some polymer residue on the graphene, which can strongly impact its electronic, thermal, and mechanical resonance properties. To assess the cleanliness of graphene fabrication...

Opto-thermally excited multimode parametric resonance in graphene membranes

In the field of nanomechanics, parametric excitations are of interest since they can greatly enhance sensing capabilities and eliminate cross-talk. Above a certain threshold of the parametric pump, the mechanical resonator can be brought into parametric resonance. Here we demonstrate parametric resonance of suspended single-layer graphene...

Transient thermal characterization of suspended monolayer MoS2

We measure the thermal time constants of suspended single-layer molybdenum disulfide drums by their thermomechanical response to a high-frequency modulated laser. From this measurement, the thermal diffusivity of single-layer MoS2 is found to be 1.14×10-5m2/s on average. Using a model for the thermal time constants and a model assuming...

Amplitude calibration of 2D mechanical resonators by nonlinear optical transduction

Contactless characterization of mechanical resonances using Fabry-Perot interferometry is a powerful tool to study the mechanical and dynamical properties of atomically thin membranes. However, amplitude calibration is often not performed or only possible by making assumptions on the device parameters such as its mass or the temperature. In...

Optomechanics for thermal characterization of suspended graphene

The thermal response of graphene is expected to be extremely fast due to its low heat capacity and high thermal conductivity. In this work, the thermal response of suspended single-layer graphene membranes is investigated by characterization of their mechanical motion in response to a high-frequency modulated laser. A characteristic delay...

Graphene gas osmometers

We show that graphene membranes that separate two gases at identical pressure are deflected by osmotic pressure. The osmotic pressure is a consequence of differences in gas permeation rates into a few-layer graphene enclosed cavity. The deflection of the membrane is detected by measuring the tension-induced resonance frequency with an...