Plasmonic Coupling Effect in Ag Nanocap-Nanohole Pairs for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

A plasmonic coupling structure composed of Ag nanocap-nanohole pairs was fabricated through a novel and facile method. Both surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements and numerical simulations show that the cap-hole system produces much larger electric field enhancement and SERS signal than the isolated structures, which is due to the plasmonic coupling effect between the gap of the cap and the hole. Additionally, the plasmonic enhancement is sensitive to the gap size, which can be controlled by the Ag layer thickness during the evaporation process. A maximum enhancement factor of 1.1 x 10(8) can be obtained with optimized gap size.