Geometry & materials
Turn structure into function.
Optical structures and microdevices connect geometry with a specific response. Scale, loss, stability and fabrication tolerances belong in the design from the start.
Which component behavior improves, and what does supporting it cost?
Measurement of the Casimir Force between a Gold Sphere and a Silicon Surface with Nanoscale Trench Arrays
Measures Casimir interactions with patterned silicon at separations of 150–500 nm. Deviations from pairwise addition demonstrate that geometry changes the force and that simply summing independent microcavities is unreliable.
Scattering theory approach to electrodynamic Casimir forces
Provides a scattering-based method for calculating Casimir interactions across shapes, materials, arrangements, and temperatures. It is a credible basis for a numerical geometry atlas using specified physical inputs.
Casimir-Lifshitz Theory and Metamaterials
Analyzes how dispersion, anisotropy, and loss affect predicted Casimir forces involving metamaterials. Magnetic dissipation and a metallic Drude contribution can suppress or reverse a predicted repulsion.
Quantum mechanical actuation of microelectromechanical systems by the Casimir force
Demonstrates a micromachined torsional plate actuated by attraction to a nearby spherical metallic surface. The measured rotation changes with separation as predicted, connecting Casimir physics to practical mechanical components and sensors.
Analysis of Radiation-Pressure Induced Mechanical Oscillation of an Optical Microcavity
Experimentally identifies radiation pressure as the mechanism exciting mechanical oscillations in an ultrahigh-Q optical microcavity. The result links resonant optical energy, structural motion, and dynamical instability in a well-specified device.
Actuation of micro-optomechanical systems via cavity-enhanced optical dipole forces
Demonstrates micrometer-scale motion of a movable waveguide coupled to an optical microresonator using milliwatt-level optical input. The measured force is used to make a tunable optical filter, illustrating a concrete commercial component pathway for boundary-mediated optical forces.
Harnessing optical forces in integrated photonic circuits
Directly detects transverse optical forces driving a suspended waveguide in an integrated silicon photonic circuit. It demonstrates all-optical actuation and readout of a nanomechanical system, showing how geometry and field confinement can produce usable on-chip functions.
Nanophotonic Heterostructures for Efficient Propulsion and Radiative Cooling of Relativistic Light Sails
Compares thin-film structures for low laser absorption, useful reflectivity, low areal mass and infrared heat rejection. A proposed figure of merit exposes the trade-off between reflectivity and sail mass rather than optimizing reflectivity alone.