Fluid-structure interactions of mechanical sensors at nanometer scales

Miniaturization of resonant mechanical structures has driven progress in a wide range of advanced technologies, including sensors for mass detection and imaging with atomic resolution. While the constituent elastic properties of mechanical resonators remain identical to bulk values upon miniaturization to nanometer length scales, operation in fluid environments gives rise to physical phenomena not normally seen at macroscopic levels. Here, we discuss recent work aimed at interrogating and modeling the fluid-structure interaction of nanometer-scale mechanical sensors, in gases and liquids.