Two Layers of Carbon Atoms Enable Ultrasensitive Detection of Acceleration

Graphene is a promising material in nanoelectromechanical systems and sensors. Here, we applied suspended two layers of carbon atoms with an attached SiO₂/Si proof mass that is more than 30000 times heavier than the springs made of two layers of carbon atoms for sensing acceleration and found enhanced electromechanical coupling transduction. As a result, devices based on two layers of carbon atoms have at least 3 orders of magnitude higher sensitivity per proof mass volume and at least 3 orders of magnitude smaller proof mass volume than state-of-the-art silicon piezoresistive accelerometers. These findings demonstrate atomically thin layers of carbon atoms have the potential to realize the ultrasmall and ultrasensitive nanoelectromechanical devices that are highly demanded for many emerging applications such as biomedical implantable systems, medical micro/nanorobots in precision medicine, and wearable devices.