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Nanowires Enabling Signal‐Enhanced Nanoscale Raman Spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Becker Michael,
Sivakov Vladimir,
Gösele Ulrich,
Stelzner Thomas,
Andrä Gudrun,
Reich Hans J.,
Hoffmann Samuel,
Michler Johannes,
Christiansen Silke H.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.200701007
Subject(s) - nanowire , raman spectroscopy , materials science , raman scattering , nanotechnology , substrate (aquarium) , silicon , nanoscopic scale , surface enhanced raman spectroscopy , colloidal gold , spectroscopy , nanoparticle , optoelectronics , optics , oceanography , physics , quantum mechanics , geology
Silicon nanowires grown by the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism catalyzed by gold show gold caps (droplets) ≈20–500 nm in diameter with a half spherical towards almost spherical shape. These gold droplets are well suited to exploit the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect and could be used for tip‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS). The gold droplet of a nanowire attached to an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip could locally enhance the Raman signal and increase the spatial resolution. Used as a SERS template, an ensemble of self‐organizing nanowires grown bottom up on a silicon substrate could allow highly sensitive signal‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy of materials that show a characteristic Raman signature. A combination of a nanowire‐based TERS probe and a nanowire‐based SERS substrate promises optimized signal enhancement so that the detection of highly dilute species, even single molecules or single bacteria or DNA strands, and other soft matter is within reach. Potential applications of this novel nanowire‐based SERS and TERS solution lie in the fields of biomedical and life sciences, as well as security and solid‐state research such as silicon technology.