Micro- and Nanosystems

Micro- and nanosystems integrate mechanical, electrical and optical functions at length scales from micrometres down to nanometres. At the microscale, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) combine miniature beams, membranes, channels and sensors with integrated electronics for applications ranging from inertial sensing to biomedical devices. At the nanoscale, nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) exploit mechanical motion of beams, cantilevers and membranes with ultralow mass and stiffness, enabling ultra-high-frequency resonators, energy-efficient switches and molecular-scale sensing. Optomechanical and nanophotonic platforms couple light to mechanical motion, offering routes to quantum state preparation, high-sensitivity force detection and coherent signal transduction. Micro- and nanosystems technologies underpin a broad array of fields—from environmental monitoring and wearable electronics to quantum information science—by harnessing size-dependent material properties, high-resolution fabrication and advanced integration strategies. Key challenges include managing surface forces, engineering high mechanical quality factors, achieving reliable transduction at low power and co-integrating sensors, actuators and control circuitry at wafer scale.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Ultra-low-energy nanoelectromechanical memories with intrinsic radiation hardness have been demonstrated by reshaping electrode geometries and exploiting electrothermal erase operations to programme at sub-10 femtojoule per bit. These switches retain non-volatile states through mechanical contacts and resist radiation-induced degradation, offering a compelling platform for spaceborne and high-reliability computing. In parallel, centimetre-long yet nanometre-thin mechanical resonators fabricated via optimisation-driven design exhibit room-temperature quality factors approaching 10¹⁰ at kilohertz frequencies without cryogenics, paving the way for ambient-condition precision inertial and force sensors. On the microscale, piezoelectric laminates harness flexoelectric effects—electrical polarization induced by strain gradients—to regulate local electric fields for cell-culture bioreactors and mechanobiology studies; coupled variational and numerical analyses reveal how microscale deformation yields precise electromechanical signals for biomedical stimulation.

Research from all publishers

Foundry-compatible NEMS relays implemented in silicon-on-insulator processes have achieved four-terminal switch designs integrated with back-end-of-line interconnects. By applying body-biasing, pull-in voltages fall below 8 V while preserving zero leakage and abrupt switching, enabling high-density relay-based logic blocks for ultra-low-power computing in harsh environments. In sensing applications, graphene-based squeeze-film microphones drive atomically thin membranes at resonance to modulate the stiffness of trapped air films; sound-pressure-induced shifts in resonance frequency are detected with phase-locked loops, yielding microphones with footprints over 1000× smaller than conventional MEMS devices and enhanced dynamic range under ambient conditions.

Micro- and Nanosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in micro- and nanosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Microelectromechanical system (MEMS): A device in which mechanical elements, sensors, actuators and electronics are microscale-fabricated and integrated on a common substrate.

Nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS): A system that leverages mechanical structures at nanometre dimensions for switching, sensing or resonant functions with extremely low mass and high frequencies.

Electromechanical actuation: Mechanical movement induced by electrical forces, including electrostatic attraction or electrothermal expansion, used to open and close NEMS switches.

Optomechanical coupling: Interaction between optical fields and mechanical motion, whereby radiation pressure or photothermal effects modify the mechanical state and enable read-out via light.

Quality factor (Q): A dimensionless parameter representing the ratio of stored to dissipated energy per oscillation cycle in a resonator; higher Q indicates lower loss and sharper resonance.

Flexoelectric effect: Generation of electrical polarization in a dielectric by a non-uniform mechanical strain, significant in micro- and nanoscale piezoelectric structures.

References

1. Integrated 4-terminal single-contact nanoelectromechanical relays implemented in a silicon-on-insulator foundry process. Nanoscale (2023).
2. Sub-10 fJ/bit radiation-hard nanoelectromechanical non-volatile memory. Nature Communications (2023).
3. Centimeter-scale nanomechanical resonators with low dissipation. Nature Communications (2024).
4. An electromechanical stimulation regulating model with flexoelectric effect of piezoelectric laminated micro-beam for cell bionic culture. Scientific Reports (2024).
5. The Graphene Squeeze-Film Microphone. Nano Letters (2024).