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Published on: July 21, 2023
Towards enhanced optical sensor performance: SEIRA and SERS with plasmonic nanostars
O Bibikova1, J Haas2, A I López-Lorente2
1Optoelectronics and Measurement Techniques Research Unit, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, Oulu 90570, Finland and Institute of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany. boris.mizaikoff@uni-um.de and Art Photonics GmbH, 12489 Berlin, Germany and Research-Educational Institute of Optics and Biophotonics, Saratov National Research State University, Saratov 410012, Russian Federation.
This study presents gold nanostar-based plasmonic chips that simultaneously enhance Raman and infrared spectroscopy signals. These nanostars amplify spectral signatures for improved molecular detection on silicon substrates.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Spectroscopy
- Materials Science
Background:
- Plasmonic nanomaterials offer unique optical properties for enhancing spectroscopic techniques.
- Gold nanostars possess high-aspect-ratio structures that create numerous "hot spots" for electric field enhancement.
- Simultaneous enhancement of multiple spectroscopic methods on a single platform is highly desirable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and characterize a plasmonic chip system using self-assembled gold nanostars.
- To enable concurrent enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and surface-enhanced infrared reflection/absorption spectroscopy (SEIRA).
- To demonstrate the system's capability in amplifying spectral signatures of an analyte.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of plasmonic chips by immobilizing gold nanostars onto silicon substrates.
- Utilizing gold thin layers and thiol-terminated polyethylene glycol linkers for nanostar immobilization.
- Characterization of the system's performance using crystal violet as an analyte for both SERS and SEIRA measurements.
Main Results:
- The gold nanostar plasmonic chips successfully enhanced both SERS and SEIRA signals.
- Significant signal amplification was observed for crystal violet, indicating enhanced analyte vibrational intensity.
- Calculated enhancement factors were 2.5 × 10^3 and 2.3 × 10^3 for SERS, and 5.36 for SEIRA.
Conclusions:
- The developed gold nanostar-based plasmonic system effectively enhances both SERS and SEIRA spectral signatures.
- This platform demonstrates potential for sensitive and simultaneous molecular detection using complementary spectroscopic techniques.
- The high-aspect-ratio structure of gold nanostars is crucial for achieving significant electric field enhancement and signal amplification.
