Evidence for Quantized Displacement in Macroscopic Nanomechanical Oscillators

Abstract

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Full text can be accessed via http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.030402

Alexei Gaidarzhy,^1,2 Guiti Zolfagharkhani,¹ Robert L. Badzey,¹ and Pritiraj Mohanty¹
¹Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
²Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, 110 Cummington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA

Received 7 July 2004; revised 18 October 2004; published 25 January 2005

Wereport the observation of discrete displacement of nanomechanical oscillators withgigahertz-range resonance frequencies at millikelvin temperatures. The oscillators are nanomachinedsingle-crystal structures of silicon, designed to provide two distinct setsof coupled elements with very low and very high frequencies.With this novel design, femtometer-level displacement of the frequency-determining elementis amplified into collective motion of the entire micron-sized structure.The observed discrete response possibly results from energy quantization atthe onset of the quantum regime in these macroscopic nanomechanicaloscillators.

URL:	http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.030402
DOI:	10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.030402
PACS:	03.65.Ta; 62.25.+g; 62.30.+d; 62.40.+i 03.65.Ta Foundations of quantum mechanics; measurement theory 62.25.+g Mechanical properties of nanoscale materials 62.30.+d Mechanical and elastic waves; vibrations in condensed matter 62.40.+i Anelasticity, internal friction, stress relaxation, and mechanical resonances YEAR: 2005
KEYWORDS:	harmonic oscillators, nanotechnology, micromechanical resonators