https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2009-00097-3
Noise color and asymmetry in stochastic resonance with silicon nanomechanical resonators
Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, 02215 Massachusetts, USA
Corresponding author: a mohanty@physics.bu.edu
Received:
20
November
2008
Revised:
10
February
2009
Published online:
18
March
2009
Stochastic resonance with white noise has been well established as a potential signal amplification mechanism in nanomechanical two-state systems. While white noise represents the archetypal stimulus for stochastic resonance, typical operating environments for nanomechanical devices often contain different classes of noise, particularly colored noise with a 1/f spectrum. As a result, improved understanding of the effects of noise color will be helpful in maximizing device performance. Here we report measurements of stochastic resonance in a silicon nanomechanical resonator using 1/f noise and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise types. Power spectral densities and residence time distributions provide insight into asymmetry of the bistable amplitude states, and the data sets suggest that 1/fα noise spectra with increasing noise color (i.e. α) may lead to increasing asymmetry in the system, reducing the achievable amplification. Furthermore, we explore the effects of correlation time τ on stochastic resonance with the use of exponentially correlated noise. We find monotonic suppression of the spectral amplification as the correlation time increases.
PACS: 85.85.+j – Micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and devices / 05.40.-a – Fluctuation phenomena, random processes, noise, and Brownian motion / 05.45.-a – Nonlinear dynamics and chaos
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2009