Large-Scale Integrationof Nanoelectromechanical Systemsfor Gas Sensing Applications.

We have developed arrays of nanomechanical systems (NEMS)by large-scaleintegration, comprising thousands of individual nanoresonators withdensities of up to 6 million NEMS per square centimeter. The individualNEMS devices are electrically coupled using a combined series-parallelconfiguration that is extremely robust with respect to lithographicaldefects and mechanical or electrostatic-discharge damage. Given thelarge number of connected nanoresonators, the arrays are able to handleextremely high input powers (>1 W per array, corresponding to <1mW per nanoresonator) without excessive heating or deterioration ofresonance response. We demonstrate the utility of integrated NEMSarrays as high-performance chemical vapor sensors, detecting a part-per-billionconcentration of a chemical warfare simulant within only a 2 s exposureperiod. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]