Overview
Our LeviTAS program focuses on developing anchor-free, levitated mechanical systems that eliminate clamping loss and achieve unprecedented stability for precision sensing. By leveraging diamagnetic levitation of graphite and composite materials above permanent magnet arrays, we aim to create heavy mass, high-Q resonant systems that operate in an ultrahigh vacuum condition with minimal energy dissipation. These levitated platforms provide complete mechanical isolation from environmental vibrations and temperature fluctuations, enabling fundamental studies of rigid body resonances and translational motion. Combining theoretical modeling, magnetic flux simulations, and optical interferometric measurements, we investigate the trapping dynamics, damping mechanisms, and frequency stability of levitating resonators from millimeter to centimeter scales. Our work advances the frontier of high-performance inertial sensors, establishing a scalable pathway toward next-generation navigation and precision measurement systems.
Featured Publications:
Highly Stable Diamagnetically Levitated Mechanical Resonators with Large Masses Exceeding 1.5 Gram
We demonstrate gram-scale diamagnetically levitated composite mechanical resonators that eliminate clamping loss, achieving high quality factors (up to 32,000) and exceptional frequency stability at room temperature. It further shows that co-design of magnet arrays and insulating graphite/epoxy materials suppresses eddy current damping, enabling scalable, low-dissipation platforms for precision sensing applications such as inertial sensing and magnetometry.
Diamagnetically Levitated and Trapped Graphite Mechanical Resonators
We demonstrate stable, passive diamagnetic levitation and 3D trapping of macroscopic graphite plates at room temperature without external power or active control, enabling anchor-free mechanical resonators. It combines FEM modeling and optical interferometry measurements to characterize their rigid-body resonance (f»25-50 Hz, Q»30-70), showing strong agreement between theory and experiment. This work highlights a promising pathway toward low-dissipation, high-stability resonant sensing platforms with excellent thermal and mechanical isolation.
High-Q Diamagnetically Levitated Mechanical Resonators with Time-Domain Ring-Down Measurements
We demonstrate high-Q diamagnetically levitated composite mechanical resonators, achieving Q factors up to ~33,000 using time-domain ring-down measurements in vacuum. It reveals that air damping and eddy current losses are the dominant dissipation mechanisms, with material homogeneity playing a critical role in performance. This study establishes a scalable, anchor-free platform for low-dissipation resonators, enabling high-performance sensing with strong environmental isolation and minimal power consumption.
References:
- Roy P, Yasmin S, Wang Y, Feng PXL*, Lee J, “Highly Stable Diamagnetically Levitated Mechanical Resonators with Large Masses Exceeding 1.5 Gram”, Microsystems & Nanoengineering 18, xxx (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-025-01122-y.
- Yasmin S, Roy P, Wang Y, Feng PXL, Lee J, “High-Q Diamagnetically Levitated Mechanical Resonators with Time-Domain Ring-Down Measurements”, Tech. Digest of the 23rd Int. Conf. on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators & Microsystems (Transducers 2025), 1580-1583, Orlando, FL, USA & Online, June 29-July 3 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/Transducers61432.2025.11109605
- Wang Y, Gage A, Lee J, Feng PXL, “Diamagnetically Levitated and Trapped Graphite Mechanical Resonators”, Proc. 38th IEEE Int. Conf. on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS 2025), 16-19, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, January 19-23 (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/MEMS61431.2025.10918076