TY  - JOUR
A1  - Eizner, E.
A1  - Horovitz, Baruch
A1  - Henkel, Carsten
T1  - Van der waals-casimir-polder interaction of an atom with a composite surface
T2  - The European physical journal : D, Atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics
N2  - We study the dispersion interaction of the van der Waals and Casimir-Polder (vdW-CP) type between a neutral atom and the surface of a conductor by allowing for nonlocal electrodynamics, i.e. electron diffusion. We consider two models: (i) bulk diffusion, and (ii) diffusion in a surface charge layer. In both cases, we find that the transition to a semiconductor as a function of the conductivity is continuous, unlike the case of a local model. The relevant parameter is the electric screening length and depends on the carrier diffusion constant. We find that for distances comparable to the screening length, vdW-CP data can distinguish between bulk and surface diffusion, hence it can be a sensitive probe for surface states.
Y1  - 2012
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/35461
SN  - 1434-6060
VL  - 66
IS  - 12
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  -