Plasmonic nano-architectures for surface enhanced Raman scattering: a review

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an optical spectroscopy technique with single molecule sensitivity and chemical specificity. The electromagnetic enhancement mechanism of SERS is facilitated by the localized surface plasmons of metallic nanostructures utilized in experiments. The magnitude of the local optical field created by the plasmonic nanostructure depends on parameters such as size, shape, morphology, arrangement, and local environment of the nanostructure. By tuning these parameters, electromagnetic hot spots can be created to facilitate ultra-sensitive, subwavelength SERS detection platforms. In recent years, there have been a number of innovations in nanofabrication and synthesis of plasmonic nanostructures. This has led to a variety of plasmonic nano-architectures that can be harnessed for SERS. Recently investigated plasmonic nanostructures in the context of SERS include nanosphere dimers, individual nanocubes, nanotriangular arrays, nano-pyramid shells, individual and assembly of nanorods, nanowires, and nanotips, and some unconventional nano-architectures. Challenges in fundamental and application aspects of SERS remain for future research. (C) 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI:10.1117/1.JNP.6.064503]