Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026
High-Speed Magnetic Tweezers for Nanomechanical Measurements on Force-Sensitive Elements
Published on: May 12, 2023
Nanomechanical Sensor Resolving Impulsive Forces below Its Zero-Point Fluctuations
Martynas Skrabulis1,2, Martin Colombano Sosa1,2, Nicola Carlon Zambon3
1ETH Zürich, Photonics Laboratory, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
None:
The sensitivity of a mechanical transducer is ultimately limited by its inherent quantum fluctuations. Here, we use an optically levitated nanoparticle to measure impulsive forces smaller than the particle's zero-point momentum uncertainty. Our approach relies on reversibly squeezing the levitated particle's center-of-mass motion to coherently amplify the perturbation. We demonstrate an impulsive-force resolution as small as 6.9 keV/c, a value 0.6 dB below the sensor's zero-point value.
