Abstract
Nanoplasmonic substrates with optimized field-enhancement properties are a key component in the continued development of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) molecular analysis but are challenging to produce inexpensively in large scale. We used a facile and cost-effective bottom-up technique, colloidal hole-mask lithography, to produce macroscopic dimer-on-mirror gold nanostructures. The optimized structures exhibit excellent SERS performance, as exemplified by detection of 2.5 and 50 attograms of BPE, a common SERS probe, using Raman microscopy and a simple handheld device, respectively. The corresponding Raman enhancement factor is of the order 10(11), which compares favourably to previously reported record performance values.
Highlights
Aron Hakonen,*a Mikael Svedendahl,a Robin Ogier,a Zhong-Jian Yang,a Kristof Lodewijks,a Ruggero Verre,a Timur Shegai,a Per Ola Anderssonb and Mikael Käll*a
Nanoplasmonic substrates with optimized field-enhancement properties are a key component in the continued development of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) molecular analysis but are challenging to produce inexpensively in large scale
The corresponding Raman enhancement factor is of the order 1011, which compares favourably to previously reported record performance values
Summary
Aron Hakonen,*a Mikael Svedendahl,a Robin Ogier,a Zhong-Jian Yang,a Kristof Lodewijks,a Ruggero Verre,a Timur Shegai,a Per Ola Anderssonb and Mikael Käll*a. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has long been considered an extremely promising technique for general and label free identification and trace detection of molecular compounds. Compared to NSL, the technique is extremely flexible in terms nanostructure geometries: previous examples of nanostructures produced by HCL includes, for example, disks, dimers, trimers and cones of various dimensions and shapes.[24,25] It is easy to integrate different materials into the same nanostructure design, for example different metals or combinations of metals and dielectrics.[25,26] the possibility of using HCL for cost-effective fabrication of SERS substrates has not yet been explored. Details of the fabrication process can be found in the ESI.† Fig. 1a shows a SEM image of HCL gold dimers on glass used for ultra-sensitive
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