title: Leveraging nanoscale plasmonic modes to achieve reproducible enhancement of light.
abstract: The strongly enhanced and localized optical fields that occur within the gaps between metallic nanostructures can be leveraged for a wide range of functionality in nanophotonic and optical metamaterial applications. Here, we introduce a means of precise control over these nanoscale gaps through the application of a molecular spacer layer that is self-assembled onto a gold film, upon which gold nanoparticles (NPs) are deposited electrostatically. Simulations using a three-dimensional finite element model and measurements from single NPs confirm that the gaps formed by this process, between the NP and the gold film, are highly reproducible transducers of surface-enhanced resonant Raman scattering. With a spacer layer of roughly 1.6 nm, all NPs exhibit a strong Raman signal that decays rapidly as the spacer layer is increased.
authors.affiliation: Center for Biologically Inspired Materials and Material Systems, Duke University, Box 90271, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Jack J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mock
authors.forename: Yaroslav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Urzhumov
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sebba
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Oldenburg
authors.forename: Shiuan-Yeh
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Anne A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lazarides
authors.forename: Ashutosh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chilkoti
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D006046:Gold
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