We demonstrate here a controllable variation in the Casimir force. Changes in the force of up to 20% at separations of ~100 nm between Au and AgInSbTe (AIST) surfaces were achieved upon crystallization of an amorphous sample of AIST. This material is well known for its structural transformation, which produces a significant change in the optical properties and is exploited in optical data storage systems. The finding paves the way to the control of forces in nanosystems, such as micro- or nanoswitches by stimulating the phase change transition via localized heat sources.
@article{arxiv.1006.4065,
title = {Switching Casimir forces with Phase Change Materials},
author = {G. Torricelli and P. J. van Zwol and O. Shpak and C. Binns and G. Palasantzas and B. J. Kooi V. B. Svetovoy and M. Wuttig},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1006.4065},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
7 pages, 3 figures The AFM images for the inset in Fig.2 were replaced with new ones as obtained with tips having high aspect ratio