Abstract
Quantum fluctuations give rise to van der Waals and Casimir forces that dominate the
interaction between electrically neutral objects at sub-micron separations. Under the trend
of miniaturization, such quantum electrodynamical effects are expected to play an
important role in micro- and nano-mechanical devices. Nevertheless, so far the Casimir
force has been experimentally observed only in situations involving an external object
manually positioned close to a micromechanical element on a silicon chip. Here, we
demonstrate the Casimir effect between two silicon components on the same substrate. In
addition to providing an integrated and compact platform for Casimir force
measurements, this scheme also opens the possibility of tailoring the Casimir force using
lithographically defined components of non-conventional shapes on a single
micromechanical chip.
