Bulk-suppressed and surface-sensitive Raman scattering by transferable plasmonic membranes with irregular slot-shaped nanopores


Date

2024-06-19

Publication Type

Journal Article

ETH Bibliography

yes

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Data

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy enables the non-destructive characterization of chemical composition, crystallinity, defects, or strain in countless materials. However, the Raman response of surfaces or thin films is often weak and obscured by dominant bulk signals. Here we overcome this limitation by placing a transferable porous gold membrane, (PAuM) on the surface of interest. Slot-shaped nanopores in the membrane act as plasmonic antennas and enhance the Raman response of the surface or thin film underneath. Simultaneously, the PAuM suppresses the penetration of the excitation laser into the bulk, efficiently blocking its Raman signal. Using graphene as a model surface, we show that this method increases the surface-to-bulk Raman signal ratio by three orders of magnitude. We find that 90% of the Raman enhancement occurs within the top 2.5 nm of the material, demonstrating truly surface-sensitive Raman scattering. To validate our approach, we quantify the strain in a 12.5 nm thin Silicon film and analyze the surface of a LaNiO3 thin film. We observe a Raman mode splitting for the LaNiO3 surface-layer, which is spectroscopic evidence that the surface structure differs from the bulk. These results validate that PAuM gives direct access to Raman signatures of thin films and surfaces.

Publication status

published

Editor

Book title

Volume

15

Pages / Article No.

5236

Publisher

Nature

Event

Edition / version

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Geographic location

Date collected

Date created

Subject

Organisational unit

03944 - Novotny, Lukas / Novotny, Lukas check_circle
03918 - Fiebig, Manfred / Fiebig, Manfred check_circle
09482 - Vermant, Jan / Vermant, Jan check_circle

Notes

Funding

188414 - Multifunctional oxide electronics using natural ferroelectric superlattices (SNF)
SEED-16 17-1 - Nanoscale slot antennas for gas sensing (ETHZ)
192362 - Antenna-coupled Optoelectronics (SNF)

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