Surface enhanced Raman scattering of light by ZnO nanostructures

Raman scattering (including nonresonant, resonant, and surface enhanced scattering) of light by optical and surface phonons of ZnO nanocrystals and nanorods has been investigated. It has been found that the nonresonant and resonant Raman scattering spectra of the nanostructures exhibit typical vibrational modes, E ₂(high) and A ₁(LO), respectively, which are allowed by the selection rules. The deposition of silver nanoclusters on the surface of nanostructures leads either to an abrupt increase in the intensity (by a factor of 10³) of Raman scattering of light by surface optical phonons or to the appearance of new surface modes, which indicates the observation of the phenomenon of surface enhanced Raman light scattering. It has been demonstrated that the frequencies of surface optical phonon modes of the studied nanostructures are in good agreement with the theoretical values obtained from calculations performed within the effective dielectric function model.     

Surface enhanced Raman scattering by CdS quantum dots

Surface enhanced Raman scattering is studied in nanostructures with CdS quantum dots formed using the Langmuir-Blodgett technology. Features due to quantum dot longitudinal optical phonons are observed in the Raman spectra of both free CdS quantum dots and such dots distributed in an organic matrix. The surface enhanced Raman scattering by nanostructures with CdS quantum dots covered by an Ag cluster film is observed experimentally. Applying Ag clusters onto the nanostructure surfaces results in a sharp (40-fold) increase in the intensity of Raman scattering by optical phonons in the quantum dots. It is shown that the dependence of surface enhanced Raman scattering on the excitation energy is resonant with a maximum at the energy corresponding to the maximum absorption coefficient of Ag clusters.     

Metal‐nanoparticle‐coating‐induced enhancement and weakening of resonant Raman scattering in ZnO: effect of surface electric field

Effects of Ag and Ti nanoparticle coatings on resonant Raman scattering in various ZnO thin films are presented. The longitudinal optical (LO) phonons, irrespective of the ZnO quality, exhibit an enhancement and a weakening by the Ag and Ti nanoparticle coatings, respectively. The enhancement (weakening) is always accompanied by a reduced (an increased) intensity ratio of the second to first‐order LO phonons, which can be associated with changes in the electron‐phonon coupling strength in the probed area of ZnO. Angle‐resolved X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy provides evidence for the bending of the surface energy bands and their changes induced by the metal coatings. The effect of metal nanoparticle coatings on the Raman scattering of ZnO is thus attributed to the changes in the surface electric field. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Growth and optical properties of semiconductor nanocrystals in a glass matrix

Over the last 15 years nanocrystals embedded in a glass matrix have been a subject for studies of fundamental phenomena of quasiparticles (electrons, holes, excitons, phonons) quantum confinement in the nanosize semiconductor materials. Growth of the nanocrystals in a glass matrix is based on the thermodynamic process of the diffusion-controlled phase decomposition of oversaturated solid solutions. Three stages of the process in solutions prepared by co-melting, co-sputtering and ion-implantation techniques are discussed. It is shown that the growth technique makes it possible to vary the mean size of the particles, their size distribution and crystalline structure.

The optical properties of nanocrystals of various semiconductor compounds grown in different glass matrices are discussed. Attention is given to studies of a fine structure of optical spectra at resonant size-selective spectroscopy for both “strong” and “weak” confinement regimes. Energy spectra of confined acoustic and optical phonons in a “strong” confinement regime, studied by resonant Raman scattering, are discussed.     

Direct observation of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering in ZnO nanocrystals

We have been able to observe the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from 4‐mercaptopyridine (4‐Mpy) molecules adsorbed on ZnO nanocrystals, which display 10³ enhancement factors (EFs). An excitation wavelength‐dependent behavior is clearly observed. Another molecule BVPP is also observed to have surface‐enhanced Raman signals. The chemical enhancement is most likely responsible for the observed enhancement, since plasmon resonances are ruled out. The research is important not only for a better understanding of the SERS mechanism, but also for extension of the application of Raman spectroscopy to a variety of adsorption problems on a semiconductor surface. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering of molecules adsorbed on Co‐doped ZnO nanoparticles

Transition‐metal‐doped semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) have been well studied for their optical and catalytic properties but seldom studied by surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). In this paper, transition‐metal‐doped semiconductor NPs are investigated for their SERS property. Four groups of Co‐doped (0.5, 1, 3, and 5%) ZnO (Co ZnO) NPs and pure ZnO NPs were synthesized and studied. When 4‐mercaptobenzoic acid was used as probing molecule, significant SERS signals were obtained on all the five samples. Moreover, it is very interesting to observe a relationship between the Co‐doping concentration and enhancement of the SERS signals. SERS intensities first increase with doping concentration (up to 1%), and then decrease with further increase in doping concentration (up to 5%). Charge transfer (CT) is considered to be the main contribution to this phenomenon. Different CT ratios from substrates to molecules seem to induce different intensities of the SERS signals. In our experiments, the crystalline defects of Co ZnO NPs caused by the Co dopant affect the CT ratios. A possible mechanism of CT from the valance band of Co ZnO NPs to the lower unoccupied molecular orbital of the molecules via energy of the surface states is suggested. X‐ray photoelectron spectra, UV vis spectra, and Raman spectra were used to characterize the structure and defects in Co ZnO NPs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface optical Raman modes in GaN nanoribbons

Raman scattering studies were performed in GaN nanoribbons grown along [1 0 0]. These samples were prepared inside Na‐4 mica nanochannels by the ion‐exchange technique and subsequent annealing in NH₃ ambient. Detailed morphological and structural studies including the crystalline orientation were performed by analyzing the vibrational properties in these GaN nanoribbons. Pressure in the embedded structure was calculated from the blue shift of the E₂(high) phonon mode of GaN. Possible red shift of optical phonon modes due to the quantum confinement is also discussed. In addition to the optical phonons allowed by symmetry, two additional Raman peaks were also observed at ∼633 and 678 cm⁻¹ for these nanoribbons. Calculations for the wavenumbers of the surface optical (SO) phonon modes in GaN in Na‐4 mica yielded values close to those of the new Raman modes. The SO phonon modes were calculated in the slab (applicable to belt‐like nanoribbon) mode, as the wavenumber and intensity of these modes depend on the size and the shape of the nanostructures. The effect of surface‐modulation‐assisted electron–SO phonon scattering is suggested to be responsible for the pronounced appearance of SO phonon modes. A scaling factor is also estimated for the interacting surface potential influencing the observed SO Raman scattering intensities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First-order Raman scattering in a free-standing GaN nanowire with ring geometry

We have investigated one phonon resonant Raman scattering in GaN nanowires (NWs) with ring geometry. We consider the Fröhlich electron–phonon interaction in the framework of the dielectric continuum approach. The selection rules are studied. For the GaN NWs with small radius, results reveal that the main contribution to the differential cross-section (DCS) stems from the surface optical (SO) phonons especially from the high-frequency of SO phonons, with a minor contribution from the longitudinal optical (LO) phonons. Meanwhile, dispersions of the two branches of the SO phonon modes are obvious when the wire is thin. Moreover, compared to GaAs NWs, the GaN NWs make more contribution to the DCS in the small quantum size.     

Standing optical phonons in finite semiconductor superlattices studied by resonant Raman scattering in a double microcavity

We report optical double resonant enhancement of Raman scattering in a new double microcavity geometry. The design allows almost backscattering geometries, providing easy access to the excitations' in-plane dispersion. The cavity is used to study the phonon spectra of a finite GaAs/AlAs superlattice. A new type of "standing optical vibration" is demonstrated involving the GaAs confined phonons with a standing wave envelope determined by the superlattice thickness. A strong dispersion of the first order standing wave mode is observed, as well as its anticrossing with higher order confined modes of the same symmetry.     

Gap surface plasmon polaritons enhanced by a plasmonic lens

We numerically investigate the optical field enhancement based on gap surface plasmon polaritons (GSPPs) that are enhanced by propagating surface waves launched by a circular slit at a metal-dielectric interface. The optical field enhancement originates not only from multiple scattering and coupling of GSPPs in the spacer region between two metal layers but also from propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) launched by a circular plasmonic lens. We find that the combination of the GSPPs and the propagating SPPs launched by the plasmonic lens can achieve extremely strong field confinement, and we find that the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement factor can be up to 10(15) at the tip of the equilateral triangular nanostructures. The structure proposed here is expected to find promising applications where strong field enhancement is desired, such as optical sensing with the SERS effect.     

Resonant raman scattering at the E1 energy gap of semiconductor crystals

We present a discussion of resonant Raman scattering by optical phonons at the E₁ energy gap of group IV and groups III–V compound semiconductor crystals (e.g., Ge and InSb). For allowed scattering by TO and LO phonons, the q-dependent “double resonant” two-band calculation of the Raman tensor may display destructive interference effects when the intermediate electron-hole pairs are uncorrelated. We also discuss the Franz-Keldysh mechanism of resonant electric field induced Raman scattering by LO phonons. The double resonance terms due to this mechanism will, for large electric fields, broaden and have its largest resonance enhancement at the energy gap.     

Raman spectra of CdS nanocrystals in Nafion: longitudinal optical and confined acoustic phonon modes

Quantum confinement effects on the longitudinal optical and acoustic phonons in CdS nanocrystals in the strongly confined regime in the polymer matrix Nafion are studied using Raman spectroscopy. The LO-phonon modes show size-dependent asymmetric broadening though the broadening and asymmetry are less than those predicted by the phonon confinement models. Two types of confined acoustic modes corresponding to n=1, l=0 and n=1, l=2 spheroidal vibrations are observed. Softening of the spheroidal modes is observed in the strongly confined regime.     

Surface enhanced Raman scattering in organic thin films covered with silver, indium and magnesium

In situ resonant Raman spectroscopy was applied for the investigation of the interface formation between silver, indium and magnesium with polycrystalline organic semiconductor layers of 3,4,9,10-perylene tetra-carboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA). The spectral region of internal as well as external vibrational modes was recorded in order to achieve information related to the chemistry and the structure of the interface as well as to morphology of the metal layer. The experiments benefit from a strong enhancement of the internal mode scattering intensities which is induced by the rough morphology of deposited metals leading to surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The external modes, on the other hand, are attenuated at different rates indicating that the diffusion of the metal atoms into the crystalline layers is highest for indium and lowest for magnesium.     

GaAs/AlAs超晶格的近共振喇曼散射研究

本文介绍GaAs/AlAs超晶格的室温近共振喇曼散射测量结果。由于超晶格中Fr?hlich相互作用的共振增强效应,GaAs LO声子偶模的散射得到了很大的增强。和前人的结果一样,在偏振谱我们观察到了偶模。但和前人的结果不同,在退偏振谱中我们观察到的是奇模,而不是偶模。从而证明了在近共振条件下LO声子限制模仍遵从与非共振时一样的选择定则。二级喇曼散射实验结果表明,在偏振谱中二级谱是由两个偶模组合而成,而在退偏振谱中的二级谱与前人的结果不同,由一个奇模与一个偶模组合而成。上述结果与最近提出的黄朱模型的预言是一 关键词：     

Optical vibration modes in (Cd,Pb, Zn)S quantum dots in the Langmuir-Blodgett matrix

The structures with CdS, PbS, and ZnS quantum dots produced using the Langmuir-Blodgett method are investigated by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, Raman scattering, and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy. The quantum dot size estimated from the UV spectra and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) falls in the range 2–6 nm. The longitudinal optical (LO) phonons localized in quantum dots and the surface optical vibration modes are revealed in the IR reflection and Raman scattering spectra of the structures under investigation. The frequencies of the surface optical modes are adequately described with allowance made for the effect of localizing optical phonons in the quantum dots.     

表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)衬底的研究及应用

表面增强拉曼散射(surface enhanced Raman scattering,SERS)是通过吸附在粗糙金属表面或金属纳米结构上的分子与金属表面发生的等离子共振(SPR)相互作用而引起的拉曼散射增强现象,是一种高灵敏的探测界面特性和分子间相互作用的光谱手段。文章归纳总结了近年来常用的SERS衬底的制备方法(溶液中的金属溶胶(MNPs in suspension)、 金属纳米粒子的自组装(self-assembly)、 模板法(Template method)和纳米光刻法(Nanolithographic)等;综述了这些衬底的表面增强拉曼特性;着重介绍了SERS增强在环境监测和生物医学应用上的最新国内外研究动态。目前已经能够实现增强因子高、 可靠性好、 重现性强的SERS衬底的可控制备,表明SERS可以作为一种高性能的分析探测工具,充分实现其潜在应用价值。     

First-order Raman scattering in cylindrical wurtzite nanowire

We have presented a theoretical study on electron resonant Raman scattering (ERRS) process associated with the bulk longitudinal optical (LO), surface optical (SO) and quasi-confined (QC) phonon modes in a free-standing wurtzite nanowire (NW). We consider the Fröhlich electron–phonon interaction in the framework of the dielectric continuum model. Numerical calculations on the GaN material reveal that differential cross-section (DCS) is sensitive to the wire size. The bulk LO and high-frequency quasi-confined (QC₊) phonons make main contributions to the DCS and the impact of the SO phonon can be negligible in the ERRS process. Moreover, scattering intensity of the bulk LO phonon is strongly enhanced as the incident photon energy approaches the energy band-gap of the GaN.     

Surface enhanced Raman scattering from tris (bipyridine) ruthenium (II) adsorbed on silver-modified p-GaAs

Both surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and surface enhanced resonant Raman scattering (SERRS) have been observed from Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ adsorbed on p-GaAs (1 0 0) after the electrodeposition of Ag particles onto the semiconductor surface. For the enhancement factor for SERS a lower limit of 10⁴ has been determined.     

AAO模板法制备CdS纳米微粒的SERS光谱研究

在自制的孔径约15nm多孔氧化铝模板上沉积银纳米粒子,然后用电化学方法在此衬底上沉积CdS纳米微粒。研究了CdS纳米阵列在457.5nm波长激光激发下的表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)性质。实验结果显示CdS的SERS信号有三个振动模式,分别对应1LO、2LO和3LO纵光学声子模,它们的强度随着作为SERS衬底的银纳米粒子高度的增加而增强,当银纳米粒子的长/径比(长度与直径的比值)达到4时,这种增强趋近饱和。最后对CdS纳米微粒光学声子模的增强机理进行了分析和讨论。     

Application of surface‐enhanced Raman scattering in cell analysis

In surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), the scattered intensity is drastically increased due to a resonant interaction with surface plasmons of coin metals. SERS is a nondestructive spectroscopic method applied also to biomedical samples. It inherits the advantages of normal Raman spectroscopy and at the same time overcomes the inherent low sensitivity problem. These properties endow SERS with exciting opportunities to be a successful analytical tool for cell analysis. SERS can be used to detect only molecules located on or close to the metallic nanostructures which can support surface plasmon resonances for the enhancement of the Raman signals. Therefore, these metallic nanostructures play a key role in the application of SERS in cell analysis. By incorporating the SERS substrates into the biosamples, molecular structural probing and cellular imaging become possible. In the past decade, analysts worldwide have developed many schemes to study the chemical changes and component distribution in cells by using SERS. In this paper, the application of SERS in cell analysis is reviewed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.