Alumimun nitride piezoelectric NEMS resonators and switches

Abstract

A major challenge associated with the demonstration of high frequency and fast NanoElectroMechanical Systems (NEMS) components is the ability to efficiently transduce the nanomechanical device. This work presents noteworthy opportunities associated with the scaling of piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) films from the micro to the nano realm and their application to the making of efficient NEMS resonators and switches that can be directly interfaced with conventional electronics. Experimental data showing NEMS AlN resonators (250 nm thick with lateral features as small as 300 nm) vibrating at record-high frequencies approaching 10 GHz with Qs close to 500 are presented. These NEMS resonators could be employed as sensors to tag analyte concentrations that reach the part per trillion levels or for frequency synthesis and filtering in ultra-compact microwave transceivers. 100 nm thick AlN films have been used to fabricate NEMS actuators for mechanical computing applications. Experimental data confirming that bimorph nanopiezo-actuators have the same piezoelectric properties of microscale counterparts and can be adopted for the implementation of mechanical logic elements are presented.

Nano-electro-mechanical conduct of boron nitride nanotube as piezoelectric nanogenerators and nanoswitches

“…To address this, a transition from microscale to nanoscale is necessary, ensuring compatibility with nanotechnology and nanoelectronics applications [20,21] piezoelectric nanoswitches, which integrate electrical and mechanical properties on the nanoscale, collectively termed NEMS, a category encompassing nanotechnologies [21,90,91]. However, NEMS devices are still in the research and development phase, necessitating a thorough exploration of electricalmechanical interactions within NEMS arrays and their switching times [22,23]. Consequently, this section focuses on modeling piezoelectric nanoswitch setups, followed by the calculation of switching times and piezoelectric potential, providing valuable insights into their characteristics and performance.…”

“…Achieving this goal requires transitioning from micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) to nanoelectro-mechanical systems (NEMS) for the design of piezoelectric nanoswitches. However, the electrical-mechanical interactions of these nanoswitches and their switching times are currently under research and development [22,23]. Therefore, obtaining further insights into these nanoswitches is essential to offer valuable guidance for engineers and designers in this field.…”

Pull-in-free design of electrically actuated carbon nanotube-based NEMS actuator assuming non-parallel electrodes arrangement

“…devices such as nano-actuators [9][10][11][12][13], nano-switches [14,15] and nano-resonators [16,17], etc., are pushed to compete unswervingly with the well-known complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors in performance, the adoption of the single-nanostructure architectures will potentially facilitate the highest levels of performance, although this will also involve overcoming enormous scientific and technological challenges. In this regard, there are plenty of attempts to investigate the feasibility of building tiny systems with large-stroke and possibly having nano-scale resolutions.…”

Nanoscaled piezoelectric aluminum nitride contour-mode resonant sensors

“…Therefore device scaling in terms of electrode width and film thickness ultimately yields a sensor with a better LOD for gas concentrations (or mass per unit area). Functional AlN films as thin as 50 and 100 nm [23][24][25][26][27] have been demonstrated and are the target thickness for the making of the CMR-S. In this paper 250 nm thick devices are presented.…”