Silver-decorated silicon nanowires array as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate

Mohamed Y. Elsayed; Abdelaziz M. Gouda; Yehea Ismail; Mohamed A. Swillam

doi:10.1117/12.2251332

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20 February 2017 Silver-decorated silicon nanowires array as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate

Mohamed Y. Elsayed, Abdelaziz M. Gouda, Yehea Ismail, Mohamed A. Swillam

Proceedings Volume 10112, Photonic and Phononic Properties of Engineered Nanostructures VII; 1011224 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2251332
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2017, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Raman scattering is an excellent analysis tool because a wealth of information can be obtained using a single measurement. It can also be configured as a diagnostic tool as a label free sensing method. In that case, enhancing the Raman signal is important to improve the sensitivity and detect low concentrations of analytes. A nanoparticle showing a particular Raman enhancement shows a much higher enhancement when it is on a nanowire. This was also confirmed experimentally. We report on a simple fabrication method of silver nanoparticles and silicon nanowires decorated with these nanoparticles. The nanowires were fabricated using metal assisted chemical etching. The nanoparticles were formed using electrodeposition. Samples were then immersed in Pyridine. An enhancement factor of around 6 to 8×10⁵ was observed for silver nanoparticles alone. By depositing the same nanoparticles on silicon nanowires, the enhancement factor jumped 10-fold to 7×10⁶. Finite Difference Time Domain simulations showed that a range of enhancement factors is possible up to 10⁹.

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Mohamed Y. Elsayed, Abdelaziz M. Gouda, Yehea Ismail, and Mohamed A. Swillam "Silver-decorated silicon nanowires array as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate", Proc. SPIE 10112, Photonic and Phononic Properties of Engineered Nanostructures VII, 1011224 (20 February 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2251332

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