Letter abstract
Nature Physics 4, 635 - 638 (2008)
Published online: 15 June 2008 | doi:10.1038/nphys992
Subject Categories: Electronics, photonics and device physics | Nanotechnology
An off-board quantum point contact as a sensitive detector of cantilever motion
M. Poggio1,2, M. P. Jura3, C. L. Degen1, M. A. Topinka4,5, H. J. Mamin1, D. Goldhaber-Gordon4 & D. Rugar1
Recent advances in the fabrication of microelectromechanical systems and their evolution into nanoelectromechanical systems have enabled researchers to measure extremely small forces, masses and displacements1. In particular, researchers have developed position transducers with resolution approaching the uncertainty limit set by quantum mechanics2, 3, 4, 5. The achievement of such resolution has implications not only for the detection of quantum behaviour in mechanical systems, but also for a variety of other precision experiments including the bounding of deviations from newtonian gravity at short distances6 and the measurement of single spins7. Here, we demonstrate the use of a quantum point contact as a sensitive displacement detector capable of sensing the low-temperature thermal motion of a nearby micromechanical cantilever. Advantages of this approach include versatility due to its off-board design, compatibility with nanoscale oscillators and, with further development, the potential to achieve quantum-limited displacement detection8, 9.
- IBM Research Division, Almaden Research Center, San Jose, California 95120, USA
- Center for Probing the Nanoscale, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
Correspondence to: M. Poggio1,2 e-mail: poggio@stanford.edu
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