Methods of fabricating surface enhanced raman scattering substrates
AssigneeBoard of Trustees of the University of Arkansas
InventorsAlexandru S. Biris, Abhijit Biswas, Ilker S. Bayer, Lloyd A. Bumm
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Abstract
A method of fabricating a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. In one embodiment, the method has the steps of simultaneously evaporating a metal at a first evaporation rate and a polymer at a second evaporation rate different from the first evaporation rate, to form a nanocomposite of the metal and the polymer, depositing the nanocomposite onto a substrate, and applying an etching process to the deposited nanocomposite on the substrate to remove the polymer material, thereby forming an SERS substrate.
Claims18
A method of fabricating a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, comprising the steps of:
- (a) simultaneously evaporating a metal at a first evaporation rate and a polymer at a second evaporation rate different from the first evaporation rate, to form a nanocomposite of the metal and the polymer;
- (b) depositing the nanocomposite onto a substrate;
- and
- (c) applying an etching process to the deposited nanocomposite on the substrate to remove the polymer material, thereby forming an SERS substrate comprising a network of nanoparticles of the metal, the nanoparticles having an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 30 nm, and an inter-particle gap being less than about 1.5 nm.
A method of fabricating a surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate, comprising the steps of:
- (a) simultaneously evaporating a first material at a first evaporation rate and a second material at a second evaporation rate that is different from the first evaporation rate to form a composite of the first material and the second material;
- (b) depositing the composite onto a substrate;
- and
- (c) removing the second material from the deposited composite on the substrate, thereby forming an SERS substrate comprising a network of nanoparticles of the first material, the nanoparticles having an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 30 nm, and an inter-particle gap being less than about 1.5 nm.
A method of identifying a chemical or biological sample, comprising the steps of:
- (a) fabricating a surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate, wherein the SERS substrate comprises a network of nanoparticles of a metal, the nanoparticles having an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 30 nm, and an inter-particle gap being less than about 1.5 nm;
- (b) placing a solution containing the chemical or biological sample on the SERS substrate;
- (c) performing a Raman analysis on the sample;
- and
- (d) comparing the Raman signal generated from the sample on the SERS substrate with a signal from a control solution so as to identify the sample.
A method of fabricating a surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate, comprising the steps of:
- (a) simultaneously evaporating a metal at a first evaporation rate and a polymer at a second evaporation rate different from the first evaporation rate, to form a nanocomposite of the metal and the polymer;
- (b) providing a substrate that has a first side, and an opposite, second side;
- (c) depositing the nanocomposite onto the first side of the substrate;
- (d) sputtering a film of the metal onto the nanocomposite deposited on the first side of the substrate to form a layered structure with the film of the metal, as a first layer, formed on a layer of the nanocomposite, as a second layer;
- and (e) exposing the layered structure to a plasma etching with the second layer facing the plasma to remove the polymer material, thereby forming an SERS substrate, wherein as formed, the SERS substrate comprises a network of nanoparticles of the metal, the nanoparticles having an average size ranging from about 10 nm to about 30 nm, and an inter-particle gap being less than about 1.5 nm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.