Sensitive and Reproducible Gold SERS Sensor Based on Interference Lithography and Electrophoretic Deposition.

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Spectroscopy
• Materials Science

Background:

• Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) offers label-free detection and high sensitivity for single-molecule analysis.
• SERS performance relies on localized surface plasmon resonance in metal nanostructures, driving research into fabrication methods.
• Current challenges in SERS include developing sensitive, reproducible sensors through simple and cost-effective fabrication processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a straightforward and scalable strategy for fabricating gold nanoparticle arrays.
• To demonstrate the utility of these arrays as sensitive and reproducible SERS sensors.
• To overcome limitations in current SERS sensor fabrication for practical applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized laser interference lithography for large-scale patterning.
• Employed electrophoretic deposition of gold nanoparticles.
• Generated gold nanoparticles via pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL).

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated a large-scale gold nanoparticle array.
• Achieved sensitive and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy signals.
• Detected Rhodamine 6G at concentrations as low as 10^-8 M with an enhancement factor of 1.25 × 10⁵.

Conclusions:

• The developed fabrication strategy is simple, low-cost, and scalable.
• The gold nanoparticle arrays exhibit excellent performance as SERS sensors.
• This approach is expected to facilitate the practical implementation of SERS technology.