title: Extending SERS into the infrared with gold nanosphere dimers.
abstract: Here we discuss some of the challenges of using dimers of spheres for SERS at long wavelengths. We show that the field enhancement in the gap between two spheres scales with a local surface plasmon metric, effectively limiting the range of wavelengths for which the largest SERS enhancements can be obtained for this class of structures to the near-IR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. m-blaber@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Martin G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Blaber
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Schatz