Self-oscillations in field emission nanowire mechanical resonators: a nanometric DC-AC conversion

Anthony Ayari (1) , Pascal Vincent (1) , Sorin-Mihai Perisanu (1) , May Choueib (1) , Vincent Gouttenoire (1) , Mikhael Bechelany (2) , D. Cornu (3, 4) , S.T. Purcell (1)

1 LPMCN - Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée et Nanostructures
2 LMI - Laboratoire des Multimatériaux et Interfaces
3 IEM - Institut Européen des membranes
4 LMI - Laboratoire des Matériaux Inorganiques

We report the observation of self-oscillations in a bottom-up nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) during field emission driven by a constant applied voltage. An electromechanical model is explored that explains the phenomenon and that can be directly used to develop integrated devices. In this first study we have already achieved ~50% DC/AC (direct to alternative current) conversion. Electrical self-oscillations in NEMS open up a new path for the development of high speed, autonomous nanoresonators, and signal generators and show that field emission (FE) is a powerful tool for building new nano-components.

Mots clés: NEMS; self-oscillation; field emission; nanowire

Domaines: Systèmes mésoscopiques et effet Hall quantique [cond-mat.mes-hall]

Anthony Ayari, Pascal Vincent, Sorin-Mihai Perisanu, May Choueib, Vincent Gouttenoire, et al.. Self-oscillations in field emission nanowire mechanical resonators: a nanometric DC-AC conversion. 2010. ⟨hal-00468115⟩