Quantum trapping and rotational self-alignment in triangular Casimir microcavities

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Küçüköz, Betül, Kotov, Oleg V., Canales, Adriana, Polyakov, Alexander Yu., Agrawal, Abhay V., Antosiewicz, Tomasz J., Shegai, Timur O.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2023
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author Küçüköz, Betül
Kotov, Oleg V.
Canales, Adriana
Polyakov, Alexander Yu.
Agrawal, Abhay V.
Antosiewicz, Tomasz J.
Shegai, Timur O.
author_facet Küçüköz, Betül
Kotov, Oleg V.
Canales, Adriana
Polyakov, Alexander Yu.
Agrawal, Abhay V.
Antosiewicz, Tomasz J.
Shegai, Timur O.
contents Casimir torque -- a rotational motion caused by the minimization of the zero-point energy -- is a problem that attracts significant theoretical and experimental interest. Recently, it has been realized using liquid crystal phases and natural anisotropic substrates. However, for natural materials, the torque reaches substantial values only at van der Waals distances of ~10 nm. Here, we employ Casimir self-assembly using templated gold nanostructures of triangular symmetry for the purpose of rotational self-alignment at truly Casimir distances (100 -- 200 nm separation). The joint action of repulsive electrostatic and attractive Casimir potentials leads to the formation of a stable quantum trap, giving rise to a tunable Fabry-Perot microcavity. This cavity self aligns both laterally and rotationally to maximize the overlap area between the templated and floating triangular flakes. The rotational self-alignment is remarkably sensitive to the equilibrium distance between the two triangles as well as their area, which opens possibilities for active control through manipulating the electrostatic screening. Our self-assembled and self-aligned Casimir microcavities could find future use as a versatile and tunable platform for nanophotonic, polaritonic, and optomechanical applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2311_17843
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum trapping and rotational self-alignment in triangular Casimir microcavities
Küçüköz, Betül
Kotov, Oleg V.
Canales, Adriana
Polyakov, Alexander Yu.
Agrawal, Abhay V.
Antosiewicz, Tomasz J.
Shegai, Timur O.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Optics
Casimir torque -- a rotational motion caused by the minimization of the zero-point energy -- is a problem that attracts significant theoretical and experimental interest. Recently, it has been realized using liquid crystal phases and natural anisotropic substrates. However, for natural materials, the torque reaches substantial values only at van der Waals distances of ~10 nm. Here, we employ Casimir self-assembly using templated gold nanostructures of triangular symmetry for the purpose of rotational self-alignment at truly Casimir distances (100 -- 200 nm separation). The joint action of repulsive electrostatic and attractive Casimir potentials leads to the formation of a stable quantum trap, giving rise to a tunable Fabry-Perot microcavity. This cavity self aligns both laterally and rotationally to maximize the overlap area between the templated and floating triangular flakes. The rotational self-alignment is remarkably sensitive to the equilibrium distance between the two triangles as well as their area, which opens possibilities for active control through manipulating the electrostatic screening. Our self-assembled and self-aligned Casimir microcavities could find future use as a versatile and tunable platform for nanophotonic, polaritonic, and optomechanical applications.
title Quantum trapping and rotational self-alignment in triangular Casimir microcavities
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.17843