Ultra-coherent nanomechanical resonators based on inverse design

Area of Science:

• Quantum technologies
• Nanomechanics
• Materials science

Background:

• Micro- and nanomechanical resonators are crucial for quantum technologies.
• Current design methods rely on intuition, limiting exploration of optimal structures.
• There is a need for advanced design strategies to enhance resonator performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To employ computer-aided inverse design for optimizing mechanical resonator structures.
• To achieve enhanced performance in the fundamental mechanical mode of resonators.
• To fabricate and characterize novel ultra-coherent nanomechanical resonators.

Main Methods:

• Utilized topology optimization, a computer-aided inverse design approach.
• Focused on optimizing the structural design for the fundamental mechanical mode.
• Fabricated and experimentally characterized the designed nanomechanical resonators.

Main Results:

• Achieved ultra-coherent nanomechanical resonators with ultra-low dissipation.
• Reported record-high quality factor-frequency (Q⋅f) products for the fundamental mode.
• Demonstrated the efficacy of topology optimization in resonator design.

Conclusions:

• Topology optimization offers a new paradigm for designing high-performance micro- and nanomechanical resonators.
• The developed resonators enable advancements in fundamental physics research and extreme sensing.
• This approach can be extended to design other micro- and nanomechanical devices like phononic crystals.