Switching Casimir forces with phase-change materials

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Switching Casimir forces with phase-change materials

G. Torricelli, P. J. van Zwol, O. Shpak, C. Binns, G. Palasantzas, B. J. Kooi, V. B. Svetovoy, and M. Wuttig

Phys. Rev. A 82, 010101(R) – Published 9 July 2010

Abstract

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 Ag-In-Sb-Te (AIST) surfaces were achieved on 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.

Received 8 April 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.010101

Authors & Affiliations

G. Torricelli¹, P. J. van Zwol², O. Shpak², C. Binns¹, G. Palasantzas², B. J. Kooi², V. B. Svetovoy³, and M. Wuttig⁴

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
²Materials innovation institute M2i and Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, NL-9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
³MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, NL-7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
⁴I. Physikalisches Institut (IA), RWTH Aachen University, D-52056 Aachen, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 82, Iss. 1 — July 2010

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