Isolating Mechanical Noise to Measure Casimir Force
Researchers at Boston University needed to isolate mechanical noise from a custom metrology platform, consisting of a MEMs accelerometer. This accelerometer had been re-purposed to perform a sensitive, room temperature measurement of the Casimir force.
The Casimir force is a small, pN-scale force that arises between metallic surfaces at < 1 um separation due to quantum fluctuations in the vacuum. Because these forces are so small, it was imperative that the noise floor of the accelerometer was as low as possible.
In the words of the researcher: “The active vibration isolation in the TS-140 allowed us to remove much of this noise floor.”
This research and the resulting paper were featured in Nature Microsystems & Nanoengineering. To read the paper, click here.
Particulars of this Case Study:
- Application: Casimir Force Research
- Instrument: Custom Casimir metrology platform with a MEMs sensor
- End User: Alexander Stange, Boston University
- Isolation System: TS-140 Active Vibration Isolation Table from Herzan.
To request more information or a quotation for this or other Herzan products, contact IL Photonics.