Quantum levitation could prevent nano systems from crashing together
Monday, July 2, 2012 - 08:20
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org) -- Since the first demonstration of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the mid-‘80s, the technology has not proven as useful as originally anticipated. One of the problems is that the tiny components tend to stick together due to strong surface adhesion forces on the nanoscale, an effect that engineers call “stiction.” Now in a new study, scientists suggest that this problem might be solved by inducing quantum levitation between components, which they demonstrate by simply adding a thin metallic coating to one of the interacting surfaces.