Nonlinear and nonplanar dynamics of suspended nanotube and nanowire resonators.

Previous works on suspended carbon nanotube and nanowire resonators assume a priori that they oscillate in a single plane. We explore the nonlinear dynamics of such resonators and demonstrate that they can suddenly transition from a planar motion to a whirling, "jump rope" like motion. We identify nondimensional gate voltage, resonator geometry, quality factor, and flexural and axial elastic stiffnesses for which such motions can arise. The deliberate use of nonlinear and nonplanar motions opens up a variety of new modalities for this class of nanoelectromechanical systems that are not accessible in the linear operating regime.