Temperature dependence of a nanomechanical switch

TL;DR

This paper investigates how temperature influences the switching behavior of a bistable nanomechanical beam, revealing that higher temperatures decrease switching fidelity by introducing noise into the system.

Contribution

It provides experimental insights into the temperature effects on nanomechanical bistable systems, highlighting temperature as a source of external noise affecting switching performance.

Findings

Increased temperature reduces switching fidelity.

Temperature acts as an external noise source.

Switching behavior is controllable at MHz frequencies.

Abstract

We present the effect of temperature on the switching characteristics of a bistable nonlinear nanomechanical beam. At MHz-range frequencies, we find that it is possible to controllably change the state of the system between two stable mechanical states defined by the hysteresis brought on by nonlinear excitation. We find that the introduction of increased temperature results in a loss of switching fidelity, and that temperature acts as an effective source of external noise on the dynamics of the system.