Limit to mass sensitivity of nanoresonators with random rough surfaces due to intrinsic sources and interactions with the surrounding gas

We investigate initially the influence of thermomechanical and momentum exchange noise on the limit to mass sensitivity Delta m of nanoresonators with random rough surfaces, which are characterized by the roughness amplitude w, the correlation length xi, and the roughness exponent 0 <H <1. In fact, Delta m increases with increasing roughness (decreasing H and/or increasing ratio w/xi) if the quality factor associated with thermomechanical noise is larger than that due to momentum exchange noise. Finally, the influence of adsorption-desorption noise, which is also influenced by the surface morphology, is shown to play a minimal role in the presence of the other two noise sources.