Measuring the Casimir force gradient from graphene on a SiO_2 substrate

Abstract: The gradient of the Casimir force between a Si-SiO${}_2$-graphene substrate and an Au-coated sphere is measured by means of a dynamic atomic force microscope operated in the frequency shift technique. It is shown that the presence of graphene leads to up to 9% increase in the force gradient at the shortest separation considered. This is in qualitative agreement with the predictions of an additive theory using the Dirac model of graphene.