Casimir Force Measurement in the Cylinder-Plate Geometry

The Casimir effect has broad implications for the creation and operation of MEMS devices operating in the submicron regime. Experimental studies of the Casimir effect with smooth boundaries have primarily involved simple geometries such as the sphere-plate configuration. As Casimir forces are strongly dependent on the boundary shape, more complicated geometries will introduce modifications in the collective charge fluctuation anisotropy induced by the scattering of the zero point photons. In this work, we examine the Casimir forces between a cylinder and a sphere in a UHV environment, particularly examining the boundary effects of the 1-D role of the cylinders. To reduce the ellipticity of the cylinders involved, we have used an etched glass optical fiber, coated with Au to provide a conductive surface. Co-location of the sphere and cylinder was achieved using a piezoelectric stage with a capacitive sensor controlled PID loop. To eliminate residual electrostatic effects from surface adsorbates and resulting patches, we utilize in situ Ar ion bombardment and UV cleaning in the high vacuum environment prior to the measurement of the Casimir force. We compare the experimental results to theories using both the Proximity Force Approximation and the multiple scattering approach.