CPM Seminar
Integrated Mechanics and Electronics at the Nanoscale
Rob Knobel
Department of Physics
Queen's University
Exciting new advances in fabrication technology are allowing researchers to
start making mechanical devices at the nanoscale. The simplest of such
devices, tiny flexing beams, will respond to vanishingly small forces at
frequencies up to the microwave range. These can form the heart of novel
force sensors, more sensitive scanning probe microscopes and integrated
radio-frequency filters. One intriguing possibility is that nanomechanical
resonators at cryogenic temperatures may allow the detection of quantum
mechanical effects in a macroscopic mechanical object. A critical challenge
to reach this limit is the measurement of the displacement, since existing
techniques are either not sensitive enough or do not scale well to sub-micron
structures and sub-Kelvin temperatures. The exquisite charge sensitivity of
the Single Electron Transistor (SET), as an integrated nanoelectronic device,
is well suited to measurements of quantum systems. I will present
measurements exploiting the SET to detect the displacement of a
nanomechanical resonator [1]. This close coupling of a
quantum electronic system with a (possibly) quantum mechanical system
suggests a fascinating laboratory for studies of decoherence, quantum control
and measurement. I will survey experiments proposed to reach these limits.
[1] R. G. Knobel and A. N. Cleland, Nature 424,
291 (2003).
Thursday, December 2nd 2004, 15:30
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, R.E. Bell Conference Room (room 103)
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