Scientists From Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs Make Microscopic Seesaw That Moves Due to Spooky Quantum Physical Force.

Business Editors

MURRAY HILL, N. J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2001

Experiment Supports 50-Year Old Theory and

May Lead to Practical Applications

Physicists at Lucent Technologies' (NYSE: LU) Bell Labs have made a microscopic seesaw that moves in response to a little-known but strong and pervasive force predicted by quantum mechanics, the widely-accepted scientific theory that describes the behavior of atoms and other microscopic particles.

This experiment, which will be reported in a forthcoming issue of the journal Science, shows that esoteric physical effects are important in designing nanoscale machines, which are 1,000 times smaller than today's micromachines. It also suggests that such effects might be used to make extremely sensitive sensors in the future.

The microscopic seesaw is the latest scientific advance from Bell Labs physicists conducting research in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), tiny machines which are becoming crucial components in devices ranging from complex optical switches in new data networks to actuators that deploy airbags.

"We are using our expertise in MEMS to fashion creative experiments that illustrate what little-known quantum effects come into play in extremely small devices," said Federico Capasso, physical research vice president at Bell Labs and a member of the team that produced the seesaw.

According to quantum mechanics, even empty space (vacuum) has a little energy -- known as zero-point energy -- associated with it. This picture is quite different from the classical understanding of a vacuum as completely empty space without any energy. In the quantum description, a vacuum is teeming with virtual photons that produce constantly oscillating electromagnetic fields.

In 1948, Dutch physicist Hendrik Casimir predicted that this zero-point energy would produce an attractive force between uncharged parallel metallic plates that are very close together. The bizarre "Casimir force" was first measured precisely by physicists in 1997.

Bell Labs physicists recently realized that the Casimir force could be used to tilt a microscopic MEMS seesaw. They built the seesaw using a tiny metallized plate that was balanced on a hinge and kept parallel to the surface of a silicon chip. When a gold plated sphere suspended on a wire was brought close to the seesaw -- an experimental setup similar to the two parallel plates -- the seesaw was attracted toward the sphere in agreement with Casimir's prediction. Their results show that quantum mechanical effects play a significant role in MEMS systems when the separation between components is in the nanometer range (a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter).

An article describing the experiment will be published today on Science magazine's new Science Express Web site that can be accessed at: www.sciencemag.org/feature/express/expresstwise.shl. Other Bell Labs physicists involved in the experiment were Ho Bun Chan, Vladimir Aksyuk, Rafael Kleiman and David Bishop.

"This experiment has opened up an entirely new sensitivity range for MEMS devices," said Bishop, the director of Bell Labs' micromechanics research. Bishop's team of MEMS researchers developed and recently began customer shipments of the Lucent WaveStar (tm) LambdaRouter, the world's first commercial all-optical switch capable of switching data at rates up to terabits per second.

"In addition to making powerful optical switches with MEMS technology, we use MEMS techniques to do heady scientific work that pushes the frontiers and may lead to wonderful devices," Bishop said.

With 30,000 employees in 30 countries, Bell Labs is the world's largest R&D organization dedicated to communications and the leading source of new communications technologies. Bell Labs has generated more than 28,000 patents since 1925 and has played a pivotal role in inventing or perfecting key communications technologies, including transistors, digital networking and signal processing, lasers and fiber-optic communications systems, communications satellites, cellular telephony, electronic switching of calls, touch-tone dialing, and modems. Bell Labs scientists have received six Nobel Prizes in Physics, nine U.S. Medals of Science and six U.S. Medals of Technology. For more information about Bell Labs, visit its Web site at http://www.bell-labs.com.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as optical and wireless networks; Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at www.lucent.com.