Microchips as Precision Quantum-Electrodynamic Probes

Abstract

We show that QED fluctuations for present metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor microcircuit devices are substantial and thus cannot be ignored. For example, the Casimir energy of a gate-region capacitor is typically $\frac{1}{10}$ of the electrostatic energy. Measurement of their electronic transport properties is suggested as a tool to learn about some nonperturbative aspects of QED which cannot be reached via high-energy or atomic physics.