A novel method is proposed to detect the horizontal shift of a specific nanoblock relative to a reference nanoblock using surface plasmon modes at nanometer resolution. To accomplish this task, two orthogonal localized surface plasmon resonances were excited within the air gap region between the silver nanoblocks at the respective wavelengths, 890 nm, and 1100 nm. This technique utilized the scattering far-field intensities of the two block nanostructures at the two specific wavelengths at two specific directional spots. The ratio of the scattering intensities at the two spots changed according to the horizontal shift of the block that moved. Correspondingly, this ratio can be used to provide the precise location of the block. This method can be applied to many fields, including label-free bio-sensing, bio-analysis and alignment during nano-fabrication, owing to the high resolution and simplicity of the process.
Keywords: far-field; plasmonic ruler; scattering.