Nanomechanical resonators fabricated by atomic layer deposition on suspended 2D materials

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the use of atomic layer deposition to create high-quality nanomechanical resonators on suspended 2D materials, enabling scalable fabrication of advanced nanoelectromechanical systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of fabricating nanomechanical resonators using ALD on suspended 2D materials, showing comparable mechanical properties to traditional methods.

Findings

ALD-grown heterostructure resonators exhibit similar Young's modulus and resonance frequency as exfoliated counterparts.

Successful fabrication of NbS2-based nanomechanical resonators via ALD.

Potential for high-volume production of multilayer nanodevices.

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD), a layer-by-layer controlled method to synthesize ultrathin materials, provides various merits over other techniques such as precise thickness control, large area scalability and excellent conformality. Here we demonstrate the possibility of using ALD growth on top of suspended 2D materials to fabricate nanomechanical resonators. We fabricate ALD nanomechanical resonators consisting of a graphene/MoS$_2$ heterostructure. Using AFM indentation and optothermal drive, we measure their mechanical properties including Young's modulus, resonance frequency and quality factor, showing similar values as their exfoliated and chemical vapor deposited counterparts. We also demonstrate the fabrication of nanomechanical resonators by exfoliating an ALD grown NbS$_2$ layer. This study exemplifies the potential of ALD techniques to produce high-quality suspended nanomechanical membranes, providing a promising route towards high-volume fabrication of future multilayer nanodevices and nanoelectromechanical systems.