ABSTRACT
An effective method for the production of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrates is presented. Nanostructured silver thin films are pulsed laser deposited in an argon atmosphere. The films consist of arrays of nanoparticles whose size is controlled by the Ar pressure. The surface morphology of the films can be tuned by the laser pulse number. Nanoparticle size is calculated by a phenomenological model taking into account the dynamics of the laser generated silver plasma. The SERS activity of the films is investigated by Raman scattering of adsorbed rhodamine 6G at different concentrations.
Subject(s)
Crystallization/methods , Lasers , Nanostructures/chemistry , Nanostructures/ultrastructure , Nanotechnology/methods , Silver/chemistry , Spectrum Analysis, Raman/methods , Macromolecular Substances/chemistry , Materials Testing , Molecular Conformation , Particle Size , Surface PropertiesABSTRACT
Focused ion beam-secondary ion mass spectrometry (FIB-SIMS) with 20 nm spatial resolution has been used to analyze amorphous fluorinated carbon thin films, deposited by plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD), at micro- to nano-scale. Mass spectra and ion imaging of film surface were acquired and the presence and distribution of contaminants were investigated. Surface images show the secondary ion distribution for F(-), CH(-), CF(-). A change in size and topology of fluorine-rich areas is correlated with film hardness and with microstructure transition from diamond-like to polymer-like, as indicated by infrared and Raman spectroscopies. Based on the surface distributions of CF(-) and CH(-) and on the vibrational spectroscopy results, a mechanism of fluorine substitution for hydrogen and an attempt to explain the film structure and microstructure is proposed.
