EAGER: Collaborative Research: Graphene Nanoelectromechanical Oscillators for Extreme Temperature and Harsh Environment Sensing

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Sensors capable of operating at high temperatures with high precision and stability are of great interest and importance for emerging harsh and extreme environments, including but not limited to wildfire, aerospace, engine, nuclear plant, and other critical applications. Today’s mainstream state-of-the-art high-temperature sensing solutions involve multiple components distributed in distant zones at various temperatures and connected via high-temperature cables or fibers, resulting in bulky and ineffective sensing systems. Miniature high-temperature sensors are thus highly desirable, to provide real-time sensing and monitoring capabilities in small form factor, particularly toward future internet of things (IoT) adaptable to harsh environments. To date, integrated high-temperature (up to 1000C) sensors remain challenging due to the lack of device technologies in both sensing elements and interfacing circuits. In addition to developing a suitable platform, fundamental studies of the effects of ~1000C high temperature upon devices are greatly needed. This project is focused on innovating 1000C-capable sensors based on integrating graphene nanoelectromechanical resonators and graphene electronics, by exploiting the inherent high-temperature durability and unique combination of the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of graphene. This research will lay the foundation for developing ultracompact, ultralow-weight sensors that can operate at very high temperatures and in harsh environments, especially in energy and aerospace industry, and for environment and disaster monitoring (e.g., to assist drones for fighting wildfires). Findings in this research of atomically thin crystals and their devices will generate fascinating experiential learning materials and inspirations for students from K-12 through graduate school. The project also creates opportunities for broadening the participation of underrepresented and economically disadvantageous groups, and for partnership to bridge the gap between academia and industry in scaled manufacturing. This project aims to design, model, fabricate, and experimentally demonstrate a new class of low-power resonant nanoelectromechanical sensors for very high or extreme temperature, and harsh-environment applications where temperature of interest can exceed 1000C. The proposed research will achieve these goals by systematically investigating atomically thin graphene two-dimensional (2D) resonant nanoelectromechanical transducers, 2D nanoelectronic circuits, and their integrated systems. Built on understanding fundamental principles and limitations in state-of-the-art devices and systems, this project exploits multiphysics coupling among mechanical, electrical, and thermal domains at high temperature in graphene resonant nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) platform, to carry out efficient and judicious use of the internal transduction effects that uniquely exist in high-temperature environment, thanks to the inherent high-temperature endurance of graphene. Specifically, this EAGER project will demonstrate graphene NEMS oscillators with real-time sensing capabilities, by co-designing and fabricating graphene NEMS and graphene electronics that are chip-to-chip integrated using high-temperature interconnects. After successful construction of graphene oscillators, temperature sensing up to 1000C or even higher will be demonstrated, to validate sensing function of the graphene NEMS oscillators. This research will attain new innovations and insights in device-circuit co-design and nanosystems integration, since otherwise high-temperature environments deteriorate sensor performance for nearly all conventional materials and devices. The heterogeneous integration of the graphene NEMS and graphene electronics will enable next-generation highly durable miniaturized low-power sensors for high-temperature and extreme environments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.