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Gate-tunable bolometer based on strongly coupled graphene mechanical resonators
Bolometers based on graphene have demonstrated
outstanding performance with high sensitivity and short
response time. In-situ adjustment of bolometers is very
important in various applications, but it is still difficult to
implement in many systems. Here we propose a gate-tunable
bolometer based on two strongly-coupled graphene
nanomechanical resonators. Both resonators are exposed to
the same light field, and we can measure the properties of one
bolometer by directly tracking the resonance frequency shifts,
and indirectly measure the other bolometer through the
mechanical coupling. We find that the sensitivity and the
response bandwidth of both bolometers can be independently
adjusted by tuning corresponding gate voltages. Moreover, the
properties of the indirectly measured bolometer show a
dependence on the coupling between the two resonators, with
other parameters being fixed. Our method has the potential to
optimize the design of large-scale bolometer arrays, and open
new horizons in infrared/terahertz astronomy and
communication systems.