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Building a Casimir Metrology Platform with a commercial MEMS sensor

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-019-0054-5

Stange, A. ; Imboden, M. ; Javor, J. ; Barrett, L. ; Bishop, D. ( April 2019 , 07 Nature)

The Casimir Effect is a physical manifestation of quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic vacuum. When two metal plates are placed close together, typically much less than a micron, the long wavelength modes between them are frozen out, giving rise to a net attractive force between the plates, scaling as d−4 (or d−3 for a spherical-planar geometry) even when they are not electrically charged. In this paper, we observe the Casimir Effect in ambient conditions using a modified capacitive micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensor. Using a feedback-assisted pick-and-place assembly process, we are able to attach various microstructures onto the post-release MEMS, converting it from an inertial force sensor to a direct force measurement platform with pN (piconewton) resolution. With this system we are able to directly measure the Casimir force between a silver-coated microsphere and gold-coated silicon plate. This device is a step towards leveraging the Casimir Effect for cheap, sensitive, room temperature quantum metrology.
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Full Text Available
Building a Casimir Metrology Platform with a Commercial MEMS Sensor

Stange, A. ; Imboden, M. ; Javor, J. ; Barrett, L. ; Bishop, D ( April 2019 , 07 Nature)

The Casimir Effect is a physical manifestation of quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic vacuum. When two metal plates are placed close together, typically much less than a micron, the long wavelength modes between them are frozen out, giving rise to a net attractive force between the plates, scaling as d−4 (or d−3 for a spherical-planar geometry) even when they are not electrically charged. In this paper, we observe the Casimir Effect in ambient conditions using a modified capacitive micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensor. Using a feedback-assisted pick-and-place assembly process, we are able to attach various microstructures onto the post-release MEMS, converting it from an inertial force sensor to a direct force measurement platform with pN (piconewton) resolution. With this system we are able to directly measure the Casimir force between a silver-coated microsphere and gold-coated silicon plate. This device is a step towards leveraging the Casimir Effect for cheap, sensitive, room temperature quantum metrology.
more » « less
Full Text Available
Extreme angle, tip-tilt MEMS micromirror enabling full hemispheric, quasi-static optical coverage

https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.27.015318

Pollock, C. ; Javor, J. ; Stange, A. ; Barrett, L. K. ; Bishop, D. J. ( May 2019 , Optics Express)