To begin, deposit copper and silver onto the cleaned cover slips using the electron beam thin film deposition system following standard procedures as recommended by the manufacturer. For copper deposition, increase the emission current gradually at 10 milliamperes per minute until the sensor reads a deposition rate close to 10 angstroms per second. Once the desired deposition rate is achieved, close the shutter and set the platen position to zero degrees.
Open the shutter to start the deposition process and monitor the thickness on the display of the deposition sensor. Close the shutter when the desired thickness for copper is reached. Then rotate the crucible holder using the knob to direct the beam towards the crucible containing silver pellets, and perform deposition as demonstrated.
Next, add 500 microliters of a 50 micromolar Nile Blue solution onto the surface of the silver thin film. After 15 minutes, rinse the silver thin film thoroughly with ultrapure water to remove weakly absorbed Nile Blue molecules. Finally, dry the silver thin film with nitrogen gas.
Drop cast 500 microliters of a 100-fold dilution of the silver nanoparticle colloid onto the same region of the silver thin film drop cast with Nile Blue Solution. After 20 minutes, rinse the gap mode surface-enhanced Raman scattering, or SERS substrate, with ultrapure water. Then dry the substrate using nitrogen gas.
The ultraviolet visible spectrum of the good silver thin film demonstrates that the film is partially transparent for the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. A representative AFM image of the good substrate is shown here. The variation in the height of the silver thin film substrate is represented by the line profile, demonstrating the uniformity and smoothness of the film.
The SEM image of silver nanoparticles drop cast and air dried on a silicon wafer showed an average diameter of approximately 79.2 nanometers.
