Doubly resonant surface-enhanced Raman scattering on gold nanorod decorated inverse opal photonic crystals

We present a novel type of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate constituted of a 3-dimensinal polymeric inverse opal (IO) photonic crystal frame with gold nanorods (Au-NRs) decorating on the top layer. This substrate employs resonant excitation as well as constructive backward scattering of Raman signals to produce large enhancement of SERS output. For the incoming excitation, Au-NRs with appropriate aspect ratio were adopted to align their longitudinal localized surface plasmon band with the excitation laser wavelength. For the outgoing SERS signal, the spectral position of the photonic band gap was tuned to reflect Raman-scattered light constructively. This SERS substrate produces not only strong but also uniform SERS output due to the well control of Au-NRs distribution by the periodic IO structure, readily suitable for sensing applications.