Abstract
We control the nanoscale gaps on silver island films by different processing methods and investigate the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) efficiency on the films. We propose a facile technique to control the film morphology by substrate bending while keeping the evaporation rate constant. The films developed by our new method are compared to the films developed by traditional methods at various evaporation rates. The SERS signals generated on the samples prepared by the new method have similar strengths as the traditional methods. Substrate bending allows us to reduce the gap sizes while using a higher evaporation rate, hence the film can be developed in a shorter time. This cost-effective and time-efficient method is suitable for the mass production of large-area SERS sensors with good sensitivity. Scanning electron microscope images are analyzed to quantify the gap densities and widths to elucidate the relationship between the film morphology and the SERS intensity. While the gap size appears to be the major factor influencing the enhancement, the shape of the nano-island also seems to influence the SERS efficiency.
Highlights
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful molecular analytic tool which has shown great application potentials in chemistry, physical and biological sciences, environmental monitoring, and medical diagnostics, etc
Since the extraordinary single molecule detection sensitivity was reported by Nie and Emory and Kneipp et al using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) [1,2], we have witnessed an explosion in research activity in the field of plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy in the last two decades
We propose a new method to have additional controls on nanoscale gap sizes and gap density while keeping other parameters unchanged
Summary
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is a powerful molecular analytic tool which has shown great application potentials in chemistry, physical and biological sciences, environmental monitoring, and medical diagnostics, etc. Compared to the sophisticated nano-fabrication techniques mentioned above, silver island films produced by thermal evaporation have naturally-formed nanostructures and nanoscale gaps in a large area. By bending the glass substrate with various curvatures, we can generate films with different gaps sizes and densities as well as island geometries.
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