  A hallmark of mechanical resonators made from a single nanotube is that the
resonance frequency can be widely tuned. Here, we take advantage of this
property to realize parametric amplification and self-oscillation. The gain of
the parametric amplification can be as high as 18.2 dB and tends to saturate at
high parametric pumping due to nonlinear damping. These measurements allow us
to determine the coefficient of the linear damping force. The corresponding
damping rate is lower than the one obtained from the lineshape of the resonance
(without pumping), supporting the recently reported scenario that describes
damping in nanotube resonators by a nonlinear force. The possibility to combine
nanotube resonant mechanics and parametric amplification holds promise for
future ultra-low force sensing experiments.
