Work

Casimir switch: steering optical transparency with vacuum forces

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: The Casimir force, originating from vacuum zero-point energy, is one of the most intriguing purely quantum effects. It has attracted renewed interests in current field of nanomechanics, due to the rapid size decrease of on-chip devices. Here we study the optomechanically-induced transparency (OMIT) with a tunable Casimir force. We find that the optical output rate can be significantly altered by the vacuum force, even terminated and then restored, indicating a highly-controlled optical switch. Our result addresses the possibility of designing exotic optical nano-devices by harnessing the power of vacuum.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/srep27102

Authors: Xi-fang Liu, Yong Li, H. Jing

Institutions: Hunan Normal University, Henan Normal University, Beijing Computational Science Research Center

Language: English

Topic: Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,690

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China