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Casimir Force and In Situ Surface Potential Measurements on Nanomembranes

Daniel Garcia-Sanchez, King Yan Fong, Harish Bhaskaran, Steve Lamoreaux, and Hong X. Tang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 027202 – Published 9 July 2012; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 159902 (2012)
Physics logo See Synopsis: Drumming to the Beat of the Vacuum

Abstract

We present Casimir force measurements in a sphere-plate configuration that consists of a high quality nanomembrane resonator and a millimeter sized gold coated sphere. The nanomembrane is fabricated from stoichiometric silicon nitride metallized with gold. A Kelvin probe method is used in situ to image the surface potentials to minimize the distance-dependent residual force. Resonance-enhanced frequency-domain measurements of the nanomembrane motion allow for very high resolution measurements of the Casimir force gradient (down to a force gradient sensitivity of 3μN/m). Using this technique, the Casimir force in the range of 100 nm to 2μm is accurately measured. Experimental data thus obtained indicate that the device system in the measured range is best described with the Drude model.

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  • Received 14 April 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.027202

© 2012 American Physical Society

Erratum

Erratum: Casimir Force and In Situ Surface Potential Measurements on Nanomembranes [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 027202 (2012)]

Daniel Garcia-Sanchez, King Yan Fong, Harish Bhaskaran, Steve Lamoreaux, and Hong X. Tang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 159902 (2012)

Synopsis

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Drumming to the Beat of the Vacuum

Published 9 July 2012

A novel measurement of the Casimir force may help settle a long-standing debate over how to deal with a certain type of vacuum fluctuation.

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Authors & Affiliations

Daniel Garcia-Sanchez1, King Yan Fong1, Harish Bhaskaran1, Steve Lamoreaux2, and Hong X. Tang1,*

  • 1Department of Electrical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA

  • *Corresponding author. hong.tang@yale.edu

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Issue

Vol. 109, Iss. 2 — 13 July 2012

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