Tiny rulers to measure nanoscale structures

With the advent of nanometer-sized machines, there is considerable demand for stable, precise tools to measure absolute distances and distance changes. One way to do this is with a plasmon ruler. In physics jargon, a "plasmon" is the quasiparticle resulting from the quantization of plasma oscillation; it's essentially the collective oscillations of the free electron gas at a metallic surface, often at optical frequencies.

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