In the field of phononics, periodic patterning controls vibrations and thereby the flow of heat and sound in matter. Bandgaps arising in such phononic crystals (PnCs) realize low-dissipation vibrational modes and enable applications toward mechanical qubits, efficient waveguides, and state-of-the-art sensing. Here, we combine phononics and two-dimensional materials and explore tuning of PnCs via applied mechanical pressure. To this end, we fabricate the thinnest possible PnC from monolayer graphene and simulate its vibrational properties. We find a bandgap in the megahertz regime within which we localize a defect mode with a small effective mass of 0.72 ag = 0.002 mphysical. We exploit graphene's flexibility and simulate mechanical tuning of a finite size PnC. Under electrostatic pressure up to 30 kPa, we observe an upshift in frequency of the entire phononic system by ∼350%. At the same time, the defect mode stays within the bandgap and remains localized, suggesting a high-quality, dynamically tunable mechanical system.
Keywords: NEMS; Nanomechanics; graphene; optomechanics; phononic crystal; resonators.