arXiv · 0808.2422
A study of the electromagnetic fluctuation induced forces on thin metallic films
Abstract
Using the plasma model for the metal dielectric function we have calculated the electromagnetic fluctuation induced forces on a free standing metallic film in vacuum as a function of the film size and the plasma frequency. The force for unit area is attractive and for a given film thickness it shows an intensity maximum at a specific plasma value, which cannot be predicted on the basis of a non retarded description of the electromagnetic interaction. If the film is deposited on a substrate or interacts with a plate, both the sign and the value of the force are modified. It is shown that the force can change sign from attraction to repulsion upon changing the substrate plasma frequency. A detailed comparison between the force on the film boundaries and the force between film and substrate indicates that, for 50-100 nm thick films, they are comparable when film-substrate distance is of the order of the film thickness.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Andrea Benassi, Carlo Calandra. 2008-08-18. A study of the electromagnetic fluctuation induced forces on thin metallic films. https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/40/44/022
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.