Fluctuation broadening in carbon nanotube resonators

Abstract

We simulated the behavior of suspended carbon nanotube resonators over a broad range of temperatures to explore the physics of semiflexible polymers in underdamped environments. We find that thermal fluctuations induce strong coupling between resonance modes. This effect leads to spectral fluctuations that readily account for the experimentally observed quality factors Q ∼ 100 at 300 K. Using a mean-field approach to describe fluctuations, we analytically calculate Q and frequency shifts in tensioned and buckled carbon nanotubes and find excellent agreement with simulations.