Linearization of Output from Nanoelectromechanical Systems by Optimally Combined High-Order Harmonics

In field emission-based nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMSs), there is a strong nonlinearity between the amplitude of the field emission current signal and the field intensity of the incoming signal. This nonlinearity degrades the dynamic range and complicates the digital signal processing of NEMSs. To solve this issue, we propose a linearization method by combining the harmonics of the field emission current signal. We experimentally demonstrate this concept with a signal receiver based on carbon nanotubes. The experimental results show that the dynamic range significantly increases. Combining the harmonic current wave improves the nonlinearity error from 25.1 %FS to 8.63 × 10
^-3
%FS. This improvement is achieved by combining harmonics of field emission current with optimally controlled weights.