  We report on experiments performed at low temperatures on aluminum covered
silicon nanoelectromechanical resonators. The substantial difference observed
between the mechanical dissipation in the normal and superconducting states
measured within the same device unambiguously demonstrates the importance of
normal-state electrons in the damping mechanism. The dissipative component
becomes vanishingly small at very low temperatures in the superconducting
state, leading to exceptional values for the quality factor of such small
silicon structures. A critical discussion is given within the framework of the
standard tunneling model.
