D. Iannuzzi, H. B. Chan, R. N. Kleiman, F. Capasso*
Bell Laboratories Lucent Technologies
Murray Hill, NJ 07974, USA
The Casimir force in MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) is significantly influenced by the optical properties of the materials used in their construction. To emphasize this aspect, we will present two examples. First we will describe an experimental attempt to decrease the Casimir force between a sphere and a micro-torsional device by tuning in situ the reflection coefficient of the film evaporated on the sphere. In the second example we will review a recent theoretical paper (O. Kenneth et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 033001 (2002)) and discuss its implications on MEMS.