Improving mechanical sensor performance through larger damping

Reconsidering resonator sensing Changes in the frequency of a nanoscale mechanical resonator can be used for many sensing applications, provided that there is an adequate signal-to-noise ratio. Normally, this ratio is improved by creating resonators with higher quality factors that “ring” for longer times. Taking a cue from the approaches used in atomic force microscopy, Roy et al. show that if the thermomechanical noise of the resonator is well defined, the signal-to-noise ratio of the frequency shift can improve by lowering the quality factor. They used this approach to demonstrate temperature sensing with a double-clamped silicon beam resonator, which performed better at ambient pressures than in a vacuum. Science , this issue p. eaar5220