Quantum Mechanical Actuation of Microelectromechanical Systems by the Casimir Force
H. B. Chan,
V. A. Aksyuk,
R. N. Kleiman,
D. J. Bishop,
Federico Capasso*
The Casimir force is the attraction between uncharged metallic
surfaces as a result of quantum mechanical vacuum fluctuations of the
electromagnetic field. We demonstrate the Casimir effect in
microelectromechanical systems using a micromachined torsional device.
Attraction between a polysilicon plate and a spherical metallic surface
results in a torque that rotates the plate about two thin torsional
rods. The dependence of the rotation angle on the separation between
the surfaces is in agreement with calculations of the Casimir force.
Our results show that quantum electrodynamical effects play a
significant role in such microelectromechanical systems when the
separation between components is in the nanometer range.
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
fc{at}lucent.com
