An acoustically enhanced gold film Raman sensor on a lithium niobate substrate. (11th June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jaatinen, Esa A.; Adams, Matthew P.; Chou, Alison; McKay Parry, Nick; Fredericks, Peter M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of Raman spectroscopy. Volume 45:Number 8(2014:Aug.)
• Page Start: 636
• Page End: 641
• Publication Date: 2014-06-11
• Subjects: Raman spectroscopy -- Periodicals; 535.846
• DOI: 10.1002/jrs.4522
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0377-0486

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>The surface enhanced Raman scattering effect has shown immense potential for detecting trace amounts of explosive vapor molecules. To date, efforts to produce a commercially available, reliable SERS sensor have been impeded by an inability to separate the electromagnetic enhancement produced by the metallic nanostructure from other signal enhancing effects. Here, we show a new Raman sensor that uses surface acoustic waves (SAWs) to produce controllable surface structures on gold films deposited on LiNbO₃ substrates that modulate the Raman signal of a target compound (thiophenol) adsorbed on the films. We demonstrate that this sensor can dynamically control the Raman signal simply by changing the SAW's amplitude, allowing the Raman signal enhancement factor to be directly measured with no variation in the concentration of the target compound. The physically adsorbed molecules can be removed from the sensor without physical cleaning or damage, making it possible to reuse it for real‐time Raman detection. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.</p> </abstract>