Nanomechanical Resonator Shuttling Single Electrons at Radio Frequencies

Abstract

We observe transport of electrons through a metallic island on the tip of a nanomechanical pendulum. The resulting tunneling current shows distinct features corresponding to the discrete mechanical eigenfrequencies of the pendulum. We report on measurements covering the temperature range from 300 down to 4.2 K. We explain the $I-V$ curve, which unexpectedly differs from previous theoretical predictions, with model calculations based on a master equation approach.