Suspended PVDF/Quasi-1-D TiS3 (001) Interfaces for Applications in Nanoelectromechanical Systems: Accelerometer Prototype

Quasi-1-D materials have been garnering increased attention due to a multitude of interesting properties ranging from chiral photocurrents, to charge density waves, and anisotropic band structures. These exciting properties make quasi-1-D materials potentially good candidates in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS).  The current Si based MEMS/NEMS suffer from large device area size. One way to reduce the area is to use suspended 2-D or quasi-1-D materials with an attached proof mass which can also enhance the sensitivity and performance. In this presentation the characterization and fabrication of a prototype accelerometer based on a suspended quasi-1-D TiS₃ (001) nanowhisker coated with a PVDF ferroelectric micro bead are discussed. Single crystal TiS₃ (001) nanowhiskers are grown via direct transport reactions in an evacuated quartz ampule. The resulting nanowhiskers are coated in a PVDF solution by a dip-pull method which forms a PVDF micro bead which acts as the proof mass. Then the device is suspended from silver electrodes. Current versus voltage (I-V) measurements of devices under acceleration suggest that the ferroelectric PVDF micro bead enhances the electrical response compared to a proof mass made from conductive silver paste.