Perspectives on high-frequency nanomechanics, nanoacoustics, and nanophononics

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in nanomechanics, nanoacoustics, and nanophononics, highlighting their potential for controlling solid-state properties and enabling applications in quantum technologies, sensing, and thermal management.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of milestones, breakthroughs, and future pathways in the rapidly developing fields of nanophononics and related nanomechanical systems.

Findings

Significant progress in nanofabrication and characterization techniques

Potential for advanced thermal management and quantum applications

Identification of promising future research directions

Abstract

Nanomechanics, nanoacoustics, and nanophononics refer to the engineering of acoustic phonons and elastic waves at the nanoscale and their interactions with other excitations such as magnons, electrons, and photons. This engineering enables the manipulation and control of solid-state properties that depend on the relative positions of atoms in a lattice. The access to advanced nanofabrication and novel characterization techniques enabled a fast development of the fields over the last decade. The applications of nanophononics include thermal management, ultrafast data processing, simulation, sensing, and the development of quantum technologies. In this review, we cover some of the milestones and breakthroughs, and identify promising pathways of these emerging fields.