In this Manuscript, we present the fabrication and spectroscopic characterization of a large-area surfaceenhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, as well as a method for improving femtomole-level trace detection (10⁹ molecules) using this substrate. Using multiphoton-induced exposure of a commercial photoresist, we physically limit the available molecular adsorption sites to only the electromagnetic "hot spots" on the substrate. This process prevents molecules from adsorbing to sites of weak SERS enhancement, while permitting adsorption to sites of extraordinary SERS enhancement. For a randomly adsorbed submonolayer of benzenethiol molecules the average Raman scattering cross-section of the processed sample is 27 times larger than that of an unprocessed SERS substrate.

Date Published: 25 February 2010
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 7589, Frontiers in Ultrafast Optics: Biomedical, Scientific, and Industrial Applications X, 75890Q (25 February 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.842455

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7589:
Frontiers in Ultrafast Optics: Biomedical, Scientific, and Industrial Applications X
Alexander Heisterkamp; Joseph Neev; Stefan Nolte; Rick P. Trebino, Editor(s)