Rationally Designed Three-Dimensional Nanostructures for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

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The objective of this research is to take a comprehensive consideration of size, gap, and shape engineering, photonic design, and three-dimensional design to achieve the best surface enhanced Raman substrates for practical Raman based chemical and biological sensing applications. Engineering the optical properties of three dimensional metallic nanostructures helps one to gain a fundamental understanding of the plasmonic properties of those nanostructures, and bring innovative methods for applications such as SERS based sensors, metal enhanced fluorescence, plasmon propagation, etc.Intellectual Merit: A finite-difference-time-domain method will be used to calculate local electric field distribution and optical properties of various metallic nanostructures in order to understand the contributions of different geometric factors and coupling, and to design optimal sensor substrates. The glancing angle deposition technique or oblique angle deposition technique combining with other sophisticated nanofabrication techniques will be used to fabricate and optimize the sensor substrates according to the theoretical results.Broader Impacts: The successful development of a practical, simple, and inexpensive technique for fabrication of optimal surface enhanced Raman substrates with high sensitivity would not only lay a foundation for commercial development of practical Raman based sensors for biomedical diagnostics, national defense and security, but also have a large and immediate impact in the areas of nanostructure fabrication and engineering, fundamental surface science and analytical spectroscopy. In addition, this project will also establish a rigorous material physics, photonics, and nanotechnology education and training opportunity for graduate, undergraduate, and high school students.