title: Gold-coated AFM tips for tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: theoretical calculation and experimental demonstration.
abstract: The optimal gold-coated atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip-substrate system for tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) was designed theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. By optimizing the tip, excitation laser, and the substrate, the TERS enhancement factor can be tuned to as high as 9 orders of magnitude, and the spatial resolution could be down to 5 nm. Preliminary experimental results for AFM tips coated with gold layer of different thicknesses reveal that the maximum enhancement can be achieved when the thickness is about 60-80 nm, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. Our results not only provide a deep understanding of the underlying physical mechanism of AFM tip-based TERS, but also guide the rational construction of a working AFM-TERS system with a high efficiency.
authors.forename: Lingyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Tengxiang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhilin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ren