Topographically controlled growth of silver nanoparticle clusters

We present a straightforward method to form regular arrays of chemically synthesized Ag nanoparticle clusters, which are preferentially nucleated and developed inside pre‐patterned Si nanowells. The sizes and shapes of the clusters follow the dimensions of the lithographically defined Si nanowells, which here have a depth of 100 nm and form a square array with a pitch of 300 nm. Potential use of the array of Ag nanoparticle clusters as a surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based sensing platform is demonstrated by the calculation of locally enhanced electromagnetic fields and by confocal microscopic measurements of increased Raman signals from organic molecules adsorbed on the Ag nanoparticle clusters. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)