%0 Journal Article
%T System-Level Design Considerations for Carbon Nanotube Electromechanical Resonators
%A Christian Kauth
%A Marc Pastre
%A Jean-Michel Sallese
%A Maher Kayal
%J Journal of Sensors
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/384643
%X Despite an evermore complete plethora of complex domain-specific semiempirical models, no succinct recipe for large-scale carbon nanotube electromechanical systems design has been formulated. To combine the benefits of these highly sensitive miniaturized mechanical sensors with the vast functionalities available in electronics, we identify a reduced key parameter set of carbon nanotube properties, nanoelectromechanical system design, and operation that steers the sensor¡¯s performance towards system applications, based on open- and closed-loop topologies. Suspended single-walled carbon nanotubes are reviewed in terms of their electromechanical properties with the objective of evaluating orders of magnitude of the electrical actuation and detection mechanisms. Open-loop time-averaging and 1¦Ø or 2¦Ø mixing methods are completed by a new 4¦Ø actuation and detection technique. A discussion on their extension to closed-loop topologies and system applications concludes the analysis, covering signal-to-noise ratio, and the capability to spectrally isolate the motional information from parasitical feedthrough by contemporary electronic read-out techniques. 1. Introduction Since their discovery [1] and tremendous boost in popularity two decades ago [2], carbon nanotubes (CNTs) incited researchers from various domains to investigate, among others, their electrical and mechanical properties. Their high integrity, quality factor, and small dimensions are white hope for the single-walled carbon nanotubes¡¯ (SWNTs) advance to applications, such as electromechanical resonators for RF transmission and reception, voltage-controlled oscillators, or single molecule weighing [3]. First models emerged and kept refining up to reach an impressive complexity, sometimes beyond the scope of circuit design, that generally prefers to trade model complexity for simplicity and clarity. To date, the library of models that describe in detail partial CNT behaviour under specific conditions has reached a critical volume. Focusing on strictly relevant parameters is not a trivial task for nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) designers anymore. This is an unfortunate fact, when one considers that the relatively low device yield and rare occasions to observe the desired phenomena, already protract the CNT-NEMS¡¯ advancement to system-level industrial applications. In this scope, our work reviews the state-of-the-art CNT-NEMS devices from a system-level point of view and draws clear guidelines on CNT parameter selection and device biasing to foster the CNT¡¯s operation as a mechanical component
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/js/2013/384643/