Unveiling Ultrafast Vibration Detection from Nanostructures: Cluster Arrays Achieving Precise Responses without Direct Interparticle Mechanical Interaction

Sensitive materials assembled with nanostructures respond to subjected mechanical stimuli by modulating the internal electron transport through their intrinsic deformation. However, this deformation inherently entails a sufficient delay to overcome mechanical interactions between nanostructures to propagate within materials, thereby limiting the timely responsiveness of sensitive materials to ultrafast mechanical stimuli. Here, we propose a novel sensing array composed of isolated clusters, where majority of the clusters maintain nanoscale separations from each other. These interparticle separations effectively eliminate direct mechanical interactions within clusters, permitting the sensing array to respond to ultrafast deformations without additional delay. Furthermore, the nanoscale separations facilitate electron transport between clusters via quantum tunneling, achieving an ultrasensitive response to subtle mechanical stimuli. This engineered cluster array can be developed for vibration-sensing applications, capable of detecting a wide frequency range from 0.1 Hz to 60 kHz, providing characterizations of vibration details including amplitude, phase, and symmetry. The broad measurement range and precise detecting capability ensure that cluster array-based devices can find extensive applications such as mechanical inspections and medical diagnostics.