Metalorganic-aerosol-deposited Au nanoparticles for the characterization of ultrathin films by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

摘要

An alternative approach for ultrathin film characterization by means of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy was realized and applied to the characterization of nanocrystalline TiO2 films. The vacuum-free metalorganic aerosol deposition (MAD) technique was used to grow gold nanoparticles onto the surface of thin TiO2 films. An averaged enhancement factor of 10(7), as well as the characterization of a 3 nm thin film, was accomplished. Since the thin film acts as a substrate itself, this technique can be used for the characterization of a variety of solid thin film materials. Furthermore, MAD-based nanoparticle growth can be of special interest for oxide films due to the high oxygen partial pressure and the constant oxygen flow during the deposition.