



01641nas a2200193   4500008004100000245005000041210004900091260001500140300001600155490000800171520110300179100002701282700002401309700001901333700001701352700002201369700001901391856003701410       2011                        eng d00aCasimir force between sharp-shaped conductors0 aCasimir force between sharpshaped conductors  c2011/04/11  a6867 - 68710 v1083 a  Casimir forces between conductors at the sub-micron scale cannot be ignored
in the design and operation of micro-electromechanical (MEM) devices. However,
these forces depend non-trivially on geometry, and existing formulae and
approximations cannot deal with realistic micro-machinery components with sharp
edges and tips. Here, we employ a novel approach to electromagnetic scattering,
appropriate to perfect conductors with sharp edges and tips, specifically to
wedges and cones. The interaction of these objects with a metal plate (and
among themselves) is then computed systematically by a multiple-scattering
series. For the wedge, we obtain analytical expressions for the interaction
with a plate, as functions of opening angle and tilt, which should provide a
particularly useful tool for the design of MEMs. Our result for the Casimir
interactions between conducting cones and plates applies directly to the force
on the tip of a scanning tunneling probe; the unexpectedly large temperature
dependence of the force in these configurations should attract immediate
experimental interest.
1 aMaghrebi, Mohammad, F.1 aRahi, Sahand, Jamal1 aEmig, Thorsten1 aGraham, Noah1 aJaffe, Robert, L.1 aKardar, Mehran  uhttp://arxiv.org/abs/1010.3223v101007nas a2200145   4500008004100000245006100041210006000102260001500162300001000177490000700187520058600194100002700780700001700807856003700824       2011                        eng d00aElectromagnetic Casimir Energies of Semi-Infinite Planes0 aElectromagnetic Casimir Energies of SemiInfinite Planes  c2011/07/01  a140010 v953 a  Using recently developed techniques based on scattering theory, we find the
electromagnetic Casimir energy for geometries involving semi-infinite planes, a
case that is of particular interest in the design of microelectromechanical
devices. We obtain both approximate analytic formulae and exact results
requiring only modest numerical computation. Using these results, we analyze
the effects of edges and orientation on the Casimir energy. We also demonstrate
the accuracy, simplicity, and utility of our approximation scheme, which is
based on a multiple reflection expansion.
1 aMaghrebi, Mohammad, F.1 aGraham, Noah  uhttp://arxiv.org/abs/1102.1486v1