Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz Forces

The method of the adhered cantilever, borrowed from microtechnology, can help in gaining fundamental knowledge about dispersion forces acting at distances of about 10 nm, which are problematic to access in the usual Casimir-type experiments. A recently presented setup measures the shape of cantileve...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ivan A. Soldatenkov, Vitaly B. Svetovoy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Physics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8174/6/4/74
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850102682125074432
author Ivan A. Soldatenkov
Vitaly B. Svetovoy
author_facet Ivan A. Soldatenkov
Vitaly B. Svetovoy
author_sort Ivan A. Soldatenkov
collection DOAJ
description The method of the adhered cantilever, borrowed from microtechnology, can help in gaining fundamental knowledge about dispersion forces acting at distances of about 10 nm, which are problematic to access in the usual Casimir-type experiments. A recently presented setup measures the shape of cantilevers with high precision, which is needed for analyzing the involved forces. The first measurements reveal several nonidealities crucial for the data analysis. In this paper, a generalized formula is deduced that relates the parameters of a cantilever to the adhesion energy. The application of the formula is demonstrated using the first test result from the setup, where a silicon cantilever adhered to a substrate sputters with ruthenium. Detailed information of the roughness of interacting surfaces, which deviates significantly from the normal distribution, is emphasized. Although not crucial, the electrostatic contribution can be significant due to the slight twisting of the cantilever. The theoretical prediction of the adhesion energy is based on Lifshitz theory. Comparing theory and experiment yields a contact distance of 45 nm and an adhesion energy of 1.3 µJ/m<sup>2</sup>, resulting from the Casimir–Lifshitz forces. Significant uncertainties arise from the uncontrolled electrostatic contribution. Factors that need to be addressed to measure weak adhesion between rough surfaces are highlighted.
format Article
id doaj-art-b36302579aad4d8997685fca260ddd79
institution DOAJ
issn 2624-8174
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Physics
spelling doaj-art-b36302579aad4d8997685fca260ddd792025-08-20T02:39:41ZengMDPI AGPhysics2624-81742024-10-01641204122110.3390/physics6040074Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz ForcesIvan A. Soldatenkov0Vitaly B. Svetovoy1Ishlinsky Institute for Problems in Mechanics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospect Vernadskogo 101-1, Moscow 119526, RussiaA. N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciencies, Leninsky Prospect 31 Bld. 4, Moscow 119071, RussiaThe method of the adhered cantilever, borrowed from microtechnology, can help in gaining fundamental knowledge about dispersion forces acting at distances of about 10 nm, which are problematic to access in the usual Casimir-type experiments. A recently presented setup measures the shape of cantilevers with high precision, which is needed for analyzing the involved forces. The first measurements reveal several nonidealities crucial for the data analysis. In this paper, a generalized formula is deduced that relates the parameters of a cantilever to the adhesion energy. The application of the formula is demonstrated using the first test result from the setup, where a silicon cantilever adhered to a substrate sputters with ruthenium. Detailed information of the roughness of interacting surfaces, which deviates significantly from the normal distribution, is emphasized. Although not crucial, the electrostatic contribution can be significant due to the slight twisting of the cantilever. The theoretical prediction of the adhesion energy is based on Lifshitz theory. Comparing theory and experiment yields a contact distance of 45 nm and an adhesion energy of 1.3 µJ/m<sup>2</sup>, resulting from the Casimir–Lifshitz forces. Significant uncertainties arise from the uncontrolled electrostatic contribution. Factors that need to be addressed to measure weak adhesion between rough surfaces are highlighted.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8174/6/4/74Casimir–Lifshitz forcesadhered cantileveradhesion energyforces at short distancessurface roughness
spellingShingle Ivan A. Soldatenkov
Vitaly B. Svetovoy
Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz Forces
Physics
Casimir–Lifshitz forces
adhered cantilever
adhesion energy
forces at short distances
surface roughness
title Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz Forces
title_full Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz Forces
title_fullStr Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz Forces
title_full_unstemmed Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz Forces
title_short Adhesion Energy for Nonideal Cantilever and Its Relation to Casimir–Lifshitz Forces
title_sort adhesion energy for nonideal cantilever and its relation to casimir lifshitz forces
topic Casimir–Lifshitz forces
adhered cantilever
adhesion energy
forces at short distances
surface roughness
url https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8174/6/4/74
work_keys_str_mv AT ivanasoldatenkov adhesionenergyfornonidealcantileveranditsrelationtocasimirlifshitzforces
AT vitalybsvetovoy adhesionenergyfornonidealcantileveranditsrelationtocasimirlifshitzforces