Pull-In Retarding in Nonlinear Nanoelectromechanical Resonators Under Superharmonic Excitation

Abstract

In order to compensate for the loss of performance when scaling resonant sensors down to NEMS, a complete analytical model, including all main sources of nonlinearities, is presented as a predictive tool for the dynamic behavior of clamped-clamped nanoresonators electrostatically actuated. The nonlinear dynamics of such NEMS under superharmonic resonance of an order half their fundamental natural frequencies is investigated. It is shown that the critical amplitude has the same dependence on the quality factor Q and the thickness h as the case of the primary resonance. Finally, a way to retard the pull-in by decreasing the AC voltage is proposed in order to enhance the performance of NEMS resonators.