Photothermal Responsivity of van der Waals Material-Based Nanomechanical Resonators

Nanomechanical resonators made from van der Waals materials (vdW NMRs) provide a new tool for sensing absorbed laser power. The photothermal response of vdW NMRs, quantified from the resonant frequency shifts induced by optical absorption, is enhanced when incorporated in a Fabry-Pérot (FP) interferometer. Along with the enhancement comes the dependence of the photothermal response on NMR displacement, which lacks investigation. Here, we address the knowledge gap by studying electromotively driven niobium diselenide drumheads fabricated on highly reflective substrates. We use a FP-mediated absorptive heating model to explain the measured variations of the photothermal response. The model predicts a higher magnitude and tuning range of photothermal responses on few-layer and monolayer NbSe drumheads, which outperform other clamped vdW drum-type NMRs at a laser wavelength of 532 nm. Further analysis of the model shows that both the magnitude and tuning range of NbSe drumheads scale with thickness, establishing a displacement-based framework for building bolometers using FP-mediated vdW NMRs.