Excitation spectra of surface-enhanced Raman scattering on silver-island films

Both the spectral dependence and the magnitude of the excitation spectra of surface-enhanced Raman scattering are found to be quantitatively related to the absorption spectra for silver-island films. This relationship is maintained even when the local electromagnetic enhancement at the islands is varied by coating the film with a layer of absorbing dye molecules. The results illustrate a simple experimental way to determine independently the role of the electronic plasma resonances in the enhancement process on these films and shed new insights into the details of the electromagnetic interactions responsible for surface-enhanced Raman scattering.