Scattering spectroscopy employing hotspot-aligned nanopores

A scattering spectroscopy system comprising:

• a substrate comprising a scattering spectroscopy enhancing structure on a first side of the substrate and a nanopore in the substrate to connect between the first side and a second side of the substrate, the nanopore being aligned with a hotspot of the scattering spectroscopy enhancing structure to one or both of preferentially conduct an analyte into a vicinity of the hotspot and selectively provide an optical stimulus signal to the hotspot;
• a optical signal source to provide the optical stimulus signal to illuminate the scattering spectroscopy enhancing structure;
• and
• a detector to detect a scattered signal produced by an analyte in the vicinity of the hotspot.

A method of scattering spectroscopy, the method comprising:

• forming a scattering spectroscopy hotspot in alignment with a nanopore in a substrate, the scattering spectroscopy hotspot being provided by a scattering spectroscopy enhancing structure on a first side of the substrate;
• providing an analyte to a vicinity of the hotspot;
• and
• illuminating the hotspot using an optical stimulus signal to produce a scattered signal through an interaction between the optical stimulus signal and the analyte in the hotspot vicinity,
• wherein one or both of the analyte is provided from a second side of the substrate opposite to the first side by passing through the nanopore and the optical stimulus signal is conducted from a second side through the nanopore to illuminate the hotspot.