Thermal transport and frequency response of localized modes on low-stress nanomechanical silicon nitride drums featuring a phononic bandgap structure

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the use of silicon nitride phononic crystal membranes as highly responsive thermal sensors, showing enhanced responsivity and tunability through engineered bandgaps and laser heating.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of soft-clamped phononic crystal membranes for broadband thermal sensing with significant responsivity improvements and tunability.

Findings

Quasi-bandgap persists at low tensile stress as confirmed by experiments and simulations.

Responsivity of defect modes is enhanced up to tenfold compared to uniform membranes.

Laser heating can tune defect modes, enabling control over bandgap properties.

Abstract

Development of broadband thermal sensors for the detection of, among others, radiation, single nanoparticles, or single molecules is of great interest. In recent years, photothermal spectroscopy based on the shift of the resonance frequency of stressed nanomechanical resonators has been successfully demonstrated. Here, we show the application of soft-clamped phononic crystal membranes made of silicon nitride as thermal sensors. It is experimentally demonstrated how a quasi-bandgap remains even at very low tensile stress, in agreement with finite element method simulations. An increase of the relative responsivity of the fundamental defect mode is found when compared to that of uniform square membranes of equal size, with enhancement factors as large as an order of magnitude. We then show phononic crystals engineered inside nanomechanical trampolines, which results in additional reduction of the tensile stress and increased thermal isolation, resulting in further enhancement of the responsivity. Finally, defect mode and bandgap tuning is shown by laser heating of the defect to the point where the fundamental defect mode completely leaves the bandgap.