2-D materials as a functional platform for phase change tunable NEMS

Abstract

Using modeling-based design, we demonstrate a tunable nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) capable of operating in the 800-MHz-to-1.9-GHz frequency band without the need for continuous electrostatic tuning stimuli using reversible structural transitions of solid-state materials. We show that permanent, yet reversible, tuning of such a resonator in this region is possible, but only when the structural support platform is made of ultralight and thin 2-D elements. Using graphene as the top and bottom electrodes with a layer of the well-known phase change material Ge2Sb2Te5, we provide a pathway for highly functional NEMS that employ 2-D electrodes and phase change materials in tunable resonant circuits. Given the recent advances in graphene NEMS, and because the resonator properties are not dependent on the electronic quality, rather the mass of the graphene, such a design would enable the application of tunable phase change NEMS with no active power requirement in a variety of applications in the future.