



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/1010.3223v1