Plasmon-Sampled Surface-Enhanced Raman Excitation Spectroscopy

This work presents the first systematic study of the surface-enhanced Raman-scattering (SERS) properties of nanosphere lithography (NSL) derived Ag nanoparticles. Furthermore, it demonstrates the necessity of correlating nanoparticle structure and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopic data in order to effectively implement SERS on nanofabricated surfaces that have narrow (∼100 nm) LSPR line widths. Using nanoparticle substrates that are structurally well characterized by atomic force microscopy, the relationship between the LSPR extinction maximum (λmax) and the SERS enhancement factor (EF) is explored in detail using the innovative approach of plasmon-sampled surface-enhanced Raman…