Silver-coated Si nanograss as highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates

We created novel surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates by metalization (Ag) of Si nanograss prepared by a Bosch process which involves deep reactive ion etching of single crystalline silicon. No template or lithography was needed for making the Si nanograss, thus providing a simple and inexpensive method to achieve highly sensitive large-area SERS substrates. The dependence of the SERS effect on the thickness of the metal deposition and on the surface morphology and topology of the substrate prior to metal deposition was studied in order to optimize the SERS signals. We observed that the Ag-coated Si nanograss can achieve uniform SERS enhancement over large area (similar to 1 cm x1 cm) with an average EF (enhancement factor) of 4.2x10(8) for 4-mercaptophenol probe molecules.