Patent ID: 7251040
Filing Date: 2007-07-31
Classification: B82Y,G01B

Abstract:
1. An interferometer comprising: a beam splitter defined by a single metal nanoparticle to split an incoming excitation light and generate scattered light; said single metal nanoparticle being deposited on a surface of a glass slide; a mirror spaced apart from said single metal nanoparticle for modifying a spatial distribution of said scattered light from the single metal nanoparticle to generate a mirror image; said scattered light from the single metal nanoparticle and the mirror image showing interference in both spatial and spectral domains; and a detector for detecting said scattered light from the single metal nanoparticle and the mirror image and utilizing a spectral width of said scattered light and the mirror image for measuring a distance between the single metal nanoparticle and the mirror without scanning the mirror.