Intrinsic localized modes in two-dimensional vibrations of crystalline pillars and their application for sensing

We present a complete analysis on the possibility of exciting and observing the intrinsic localized modes (ILMs) in a crystalline linear array of nano pillars. We discuss the nano-fabrication techniques for these arrays and visualization procedures to observe the real-time dynamics. As a consequence, we extend previous models to the study of two dimensional vibrations to be consistent with these restrictions. For these pillars, the elastic properties and hence the dynamics depend on the pillar's shape and the orientation of the crystal axes. We show that ILMs do form in the system, but their stability, defect pinning, and reaction to friction strongly depend on the crystals properties, with the optimal dynamics only achieved in a rather small region of the parameter space. We also demonstrate fabrication techniques for these pillars and discuss the applications of these pillar arrays to sensing. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4766305]