Graphene nano-electromechanical mass sensor with high resolution at room temperature
Dong Hoon Shin, Hakseong Kim, Sung Hyun Kim, Hyeonsik Cheong, Peter G. Steeneken, Chirlmin Joo, Sang Wook Lee
Abstract
The inherent properties of 2D materials-light mass, high out-of-plane flexibility, and large surface area-promise great potential for precise and accurate nanomechanical mass sensing, but their application is often hampered by surface contamination. Here we demonstrate a tri-layer graphene nanomechanical resonant mass sensor with sub-attogram resolution at room temperature, fabricated by a bottom-up process. We found that Joule-heating is effective in cleaning the graphene membrane surface, which results in a large improvement in the stability of the resonance frequency. We characterized the sensor by depositing Cr metal using a stencil mask and found a mass-resolution that is sufficient to weigh very small particles, like large proteins and protein complexes, with potential applications in the fields of nanobiology and medicine.