NIST physicists have developed a new method for cooling mechanical oscillators using radio waves, rather than traditional laser cooling techniques. The radio-frequency (RF) cooling method could potentially offer a more practical and integrated approach for cooling micro-cantilevers, which are similar to tuning forks used in quartz crystal watches.
The RF cooling technique works by modulating the force between two electrically charged plates, one of which is the cantilever. This creates a delay in the stored energy response to the cantilever’s movement, effectively pushing it slightly out of synch and damping its motion. The NIST experiments cooled a 200 x 14 x 1,500 micrometer silicon cantilever from room temperature to -228°C, demonstrating the effectiveness of the RF cooling method.
This new cooling technique may offer advantages over traditional laser cooling methods, as it could be more practical for integration into cryogenic systems and potentially allow for cooling to the ground state near absolute zero, where quantum behavior should emerge. The RF cooling method could also be incorporated on a chip with tiny oscillators, potentially enabling new applications in sensors for detecting molecular forces.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2007/09/radio-wave-cooling-offers-new-twist-laser-cooling
Keywords: Cooling, Cantilever, Quantum, Frequency, Oscillator
