Inertial imaging with nanomechanical systems

Abstract

Mass sensing with nanoelectromechanical systems has advanced significantly during the last decade. With nanoelectromechanical systems sensors it is now possible to carry out ultrasensitive detection of gaseous analytes, to achieve atomic-scale mass resolution and to perform mass spectrometry on single proteins. Here, we demonstrate that the spatial distribution of mass within an individual analyte can be imaged - in real time and at the molecular scale - when it adsorbs onto a nanomechanical resonator. Each single-molecule adsorption event induces discrete, time-correlated perturbations to all modal frequencies of the device. We show that by continuously monitoring a multiplicity of vibratio..