Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering of Silicon Nanocrystals in a Silica Film

Sergei Novikov, Leonid Khriachtchev*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)
    165 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an intriguing effect, efficiency of which depends on many factors and whose applicability to a given system is not obvious before the experiment. The motivation of the present work is to demonstrate the SERS effect on silicon nanocrystals (Si-nc) embedded in silica, the material of high technological importance. Using the Ag overlayer method, we have found the SERS effect for this material. The best result is obtained for Ag layers of a weight thickness of 12 nm, whose surface plasmons are in a resonance with the laser wavelength (488 nm). The enhancement obtained for the Raman signal from 3-4-nm Si-nc in a 40-nm SiOx film is above 100. The SERS effect is about twice stronger for ultra-small Si-nc (similar to 1 nm) and/or disordered silicon compared to Si-nc with sizes of 3-4 nm. The SERS measurements with an Ag overlayer allow detecting silicon crystallization for ultrathin SiOx films and/or for very low Si excess and suppress the Raman signal from the substrate and the photoluminescence of the film.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number27027
    Number of pages9
    JournalScientific Reports
    Volume6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 3 Jun 2016
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • SINGLE-MOLECULE DETECTION
    • SILVER NANOPARTICLES
    • PLASMON RESONANCE
    • SI NANOCRYSTALS
    • ISLAND FILMS
    • SERS
    • SPECTROSCOPY
    • PHOTOLUMINESCENCE
    • MONOLAYERS
    • INTENSITY

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering of Silicon Nanocrystals in a Silica Film'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this