Casimir force and MEMS devices

I read an article in New Scientist about the problems MEMS devices have with Casimir's force. This force, called stiction, acts only over very small distances and makes tiny mechanical components to stick to each other. That increases friction etc.

Does anybody knows any more about this? Is this Casimir's force a major problem for the MEMS industry, or just something from the sideline?

regards, dejan

I think your best bet would be to ask the know it all… named google.

I looked around on Google, but there was nothing specific. Just tons of companies advertising their MEMS devices.

d.

insight said:

I looked around on Google, but there was nothing specific. Just tons of companies advertising their MEMS devices.

d.

Click to expand...

hi,
Stiction occurs between most surfaces in contact, not just MEMS devices.

If you ever have to calculate the force to start a 'block' sliding over another surface, you will see that the force required to overcome the initial stiction is higher than that required to keep the block moving at a constant velocity, not taking the momentum of the blocks mass into consideration.

There are a number of factors which can cause/effect stiction, quantum mechanics, electrochemical interaction and time the two surfaces are in contact etc.

**broken link removed**