Surface plasma wave nanometer indicating technique

A new method for nanometer positioning based on surface plasma wave is reported. This indicating system is form of a fibre probe and a coated Kretschmann prism. Analysis of the near-field beam intensity entering the fibre probe is presented. Theoretical analysis shows that the intensity coupling into the fibre probe changes according to the thickness of air gap. Non-contact nanometer indicating system can be set up according to this characteristic. Experiments show that standard deviation of 4 nm and resolution of 0.1 nm/nV of positioning repeatability can be achieved under air conditioning of +- 1 degree C/h