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Nanogaps for SERS applications

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Abstract

The nanogap is possibly the single most important physical entity in surface-enhanced Raman scattering. Nanogaps between noble metal nanostructures deliver extremely high electric field-enhancement, resulting in an extraordinary amplification of both the excitation rate and the emission rate of Raman active molecules situated in the gap. In some cases, the resulting surface-enhancement in the gap can be so high that Raman spectra from single molecules can be measured. Here, we briefly review some important concepts and experimental results on nanoscale gaps for SERS applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences, USA

    Lianming Tong & Hongxing Xu

  2. Chalmers University of Technology, USA

    Mikael Käll

Authors
  1. Lianming Tong
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  2. Hongxing Xu
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  3. Mikael Käll
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lianming Tong.

Additional information

This article complements the August 2013 issue of MRS Bulletin on SERS substrates and materials.

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Tong, L., Xu, H. & Käll, M. Nanogaps for SERS applications. MRS Bulletin 39, 163–168 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2014.2

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