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Enhancement factor statistics of surface enhanced Raman scattering in multiscale heterostructures of nanoparticles.
- Source :
- Journal of Chemical Physics; 2016, Vol. 145 Issue 5, p054708-1-054708-9, 9p, 1 Chart, 6 Graphs
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Suitable metal nanostructures may induce surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement factors (EFs) large-enough to reach single-molecule sensitivity. However, the gap hot-spot EF probability density function (PDF) has the character of a long-tail distribution, which dramatically mines the reproducibility of SERS experiments. Herein, we carry out electrodynamic calculations based on a 3D finite element method of two plasmonic nanostructures, combined with Monte Carlo simulations of the EF statistics under different external conditions. We compare the PDF produced by a homodimer of nanoparticles with that provided by a self-similar trimer. We show that the PDF is sensitive to the spatial distribution of near-field enhancement specifically supported by the nanostructure geometry. Breaking the symmetry of the plasmonic system is responsible for inducing particular modulations of the PDF tail resembling a multiple Poisson distribution. We also study the influence that molecular diffusion towards the hottest hot-spot, or selective hot-spot targeting, might have on the EF PDF. Our results quantitatively assess the possibility of designing the response of a SERS substrate so as to contain the intrinsic EF PDF variance and significantly improving, in principle, the reproducibility of SERS experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- RAMAN scattering
NANOPARTICLES
NANOSTRUCTURED materials
SINGLE molecules
MOLECULES
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00219606
- Volume :
- 145
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Chemical Physics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 117301248
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4960179