Fabrication of Ag nanodot array over large area for surface-enhanced Raman scattering using hybrid nanoimprint mold made from AAO template

摘要

We demonstrated the fabrication of dense hexagonal arrays of Ag nanodots over a large area using a novel nanoimprint-based fabrication technique for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Flexible imprint molds with sub-10 nm features were duplicated from AAO templates using a novel hybrid mold technique. This method solves the nonflatness-induced defect issue in the conventional thermal nanoimprint technique, and allows high-quality duplications of nanometer features from rigid nonflat templates. Moreover, with the help of the excellent tunability of the size of nanoholes on AAO templates, we were able to tune the size of Ag nanodots, and consequently to tailor the resonance frequency of the Ag nanodot arrays. Finally, surface-enhanced Raman scattering of Rhodamine-123 on Ag nanodot arrays was measured, and large signal enhancement was observed on the 70 nm Ag nanodots. We numerically simulated the optical properties of those Ag nanodot arrays, and excellent agreement was found with the experimental results.