Squeeze-film effect on atomically thin resonators in the high-pressure limit

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the squeeze-film effect influences the resonance frequency of atomically thin graphene resonators at high pressure, revealing deviations from ideal models and proposing an improved understanding for sensor design.

Contribution

It introduces an enhanced model that accounts for gas leakage, improving predictions of resonance frequency shifts in 2D material-based pressure sensors.

Findings

Resonance frequency is lower than ideal compression models predict.

Gas leakage significantly affects the squeeze-film effect.

The improved model matches experimental observations.

Abstract

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 applications. Here, we study the squeeze-film effect in single layer graphene resonators and find that their resonance frequency is lower than expected from models assuming ideal compression. To understand this deviation, we perform Boltzmann and continuum finite-element simulations, and propose an improved model that includes the effects of gas leakage and can account for the observed pressure dependence of the resonance frequency. Thus, this work provides further understanding of the squeeze-film effect and provides further directions into optimizing the design of squeeze-film pressure sensors from 2D materials.