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Updated: Feb 9, 2026
Monitoring Conformational Dynamics of Single Unmodified Proteins using Plasmonic Nanotweezers
Published on: March 21, 2025
Toward broadband, dynamic structuring of a complex plasmonic field
Shibiao Wei1,2,3, Guangyuan Si3, Michael Malek2
1Nanophotonics Research Centre, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Micro-Scale Optical Information Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Abstract:
The ability to tailor a coherent surface plasmon polariton (SPP) field is an important step toward many new opportunities for a broad range of nanophotonic applications. Previously, both scanning a converging SPP spot and designing SPP profiles using an ensemble of spots have been demonstrated. SPPs, however, are normally excited by intense, coherent light sources, that is, lasers. Hence, interference between adjacent spots is inevitable and will affect the overall SPP field distributions. We report a reconfigurable and wavelength-independent platform for generating a tailored two-dimensional (2D) SPP field distribution by considering the coherent field as a whole rather than as individual spots. With this new approach, the inherent constraints in a 2D coherent field distribution are revealed. Our design approach works not only for SPP waves but also for other 2D wave systems such as surface acoustic waves.
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