Fluid flows around nanoelectromechanical resonators

To explore properties of fluids on a nanosize scale, we fabricated by a standard top down technique a series of nanoelectromechanical resonators (cantilevers and bridges) with widths w and thicknesses t from 100 to 500 nm; lengths l from 0.5 to 12 micron; and resonant frequencies f from 10 to 400 MHz. For the sake of purity of the experiment, the undercut in the widest (w=500 nm) devices was eliminated using the focused ion beam. To model the fluidic environment the devices were placed in the atmosphere of compressed gases (He, N$_{2}$, CO$_{2}$, Ar, H$_{2}$) at pressures from vacuum up to 20 MPa, and in liquid CO$_{2}$; their properties were studied by the real time stroboscopic optical interferometry. Thus, we fully explored the Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow damping models. Observing free molecular flow extending above atmospheric pressure, we find the fluid relaxation time model to be the best approximation throughout, but not beyond, the non-Newtonian regime, and both, vibrating spheres model and the model based on Knudsen number, to be valid in the viscous limit.