Laser-Induced Silver Nanoparticles Deposited on Optical Fiber Core for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering

We report on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probes based on silver nanoparticles which are deposited on the core of the distal end of standard single mode fibers, by means of the very simple, versatile, and low-cost laser-induced nanoparticle technique. The morphological features of the Ag nanoparticles vary according to the experimental conditions such as laser power, illumination time, and concentration of the reaction solution. The SERS activity of the probes is demonstrated with the detections of rhodamine 6G aqueous solutions. The detections are made from both ends of the probes, i.e., in direct detection mode from the end with nanoparticles and in remote detection mode from the distal end, respectively.