Silicon-on-insulator based nanoresonators for mechanical mixing at radio frequencies

Nanomechanical resonators now allow operating frequencies approaching the range of several 100 MHz. Thus, nanomechanical devices become interesting for applications in signal processing. The main advantage of these devices is their high robustness against thermal and electrical shocks. Therefore, they can be used as very sensitive detectors or frequency selective components in communication electronics. Driving the resonators into nonlinear response increases the sensitivities further. Most importantly, such resonators can be used for a novel kind of mechanical mixing. Here, the mechanical oscillations of tiny bridges and oscillators can be used to realize such novel devices for high-frequency signal processing. We present measurements on mechanical mixing in a nanomechanical resonator operated at 100 MHz.