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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Detection of Biomolecules Using EBL Fabricated Nanostructured Substrates
Published on: March 20, 2015
High-density ordered Ag@Al₂O₃ nanobowl arrays in applications of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Mengyang Kang1, Xiaoyan Zhang1, Liwei Liu1
1Institute for Advanced Materials and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
In this paper, we demonstrate a high-performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate based on high-density ordered Ag@Al2O3 nanobowl arrays. By ion beam etching (IBE) the anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) and subsequent Ag coating, ordered Ag@Al2O3 nanobowl arrays were created on the Si substrate. Unlike the 'hot spots' generated between adjacent metallic nanostructures, the Ag@Al2O3 nanobowl introduced 'hot spots' on the metal boundary of its hemispherical cavity. Based on the analysis of SERS signals, the optimized SERS substrate of Ag@Al2O3 nanobowl arrays had both high sensitivity and large-area uniformity. A detection limit as low as 10(-10) M was obtained using chemisorbed p-thiocresol (p-Tc) molecules, and the SERS signal was highly reproducible with a small standard deviation. The method opens up a new way to create highly sensitive SERS sensors with high-density 'hot spots', and it could play an important role in device design and corresponding biological and food safety monitoring applications.
