Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Phase-change materials (PCMs) can switch between amorphous and crystalline states permanently yet reversibly. However, the change in their mechanical properties has largely gone unexploited. The most practical configuration using suspended thin-films suffer from filamentation and melt-quenching. Here, we overcome these limitations using nanowires as active nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). We achieve active modulation of the Young’s modulus in GeTe nanowires by exploiting a unique dislocation-based route for amorphization. These nanowire NEMS enable power-free tuning of the resonance frequency over a range of 30%. Furthermore, their high quality factors ( $$Q$$ Q > 10 4 ) are retained after phase transformation. We utilize their intrinsic piezoresistivity with unprecedented gauge factors (up to 1100) to facilitate monolithic integration. Our NEMS demonstrate real-time frequency tuning in a frequency-hopping spread spectrum radio prototype. This work not only opens up an entirely new area of phase-change NEMS but also provides a novel framework for utilizing functional nanowires in active mechanical systems.
Source: Nature Communications
Institutions: University of Oxford, University of Pennsylvania
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,890
Awards: G1832081201, Wearable and flexible technologies enabled by advanced thin-film manufacture and metrology, G2756207379, EPSRC Fellowships in Manufacturing: Additive nanomanufacturing via probe-based pick-and-place nanoparticle assembly, G4504108201, EPSRC Capital Award for Core Equipment: University of Oxford, Invited Renewal Proposal: EPSRC Fellowships in Manufacturing: Additive nanomanufacturing techniques for integrated device fabrication, G5029560312, G616003695, G8876996369
OpenAlex ID: W4220846805