Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Molecular Identification- a Review on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and Localised Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) in Optical Nanobiosensing

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) allows for real-time, label-free optical detection of many chemical and biological substances. Having emerged in the last two decades, it is a widely used technique due to its non-invasive nature, allowing for the ultra-sensitive detection of a number of analytes. This review article discusses the principles, providing examples and illustrating the utility of SPR within the frame of plasmonic nanobiosensing, while making comparisons with its successor, namely localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). In particular LSPR utilizes both metal nanoparticle arrays and single nanoparticles, as compared to a continuous film of gold as used in traditional SPR. LSPR, utilizes metal nanoparticle arrays or single nanoparticles that have smaller sizes than the wavelength of the incident light, measuring small changes in the wavelength of the absorbance position, rather than the angle as in SPR. We introduce LSPR nanobiosensing by describing the initial experiments performed, shift-enhancement methods, exploitation of the short electromagnetic field decay length, and single nanoparticle sensors are as pathways to further exploit the strengths of LSPR nanobiosensing. Coupling molecular identification to LSPR spectroscopy is also explored and thus examples from surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy are provided. The unique characteristics of LSPR nanobiosensing are emphasized and the challenges using LSPR nanobiosensors for detection of biomolecules as a biomarker are discussed. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Spectroscopy of Yb:Tm doped tellurite glasses for efficient infrared fiber laser

We performed extensive spectroscopy of tellurite glasses doped with high concentration of Tm ions for laser emission at around 2 micron wavelength. The aim of the work is to develop a glass suitable for single-frequency fiber laser. In fact such a kind of laser require the use of short cavity length and therefore high gain per unit length medium. Tellurite glasses allows high-doping concentration and are therefore an excellent candidate. In these paper we review our recent results. In particular we address the optical and thermo-mechanical properties of several tellurite glasses (75mol%Te02.20mol%ZnO. 5mol%Na2O) with Tm3+ doping up to 111,564 pp

Engineering SERS Properties of Silicon Nanotrees at the Nanoscale

Large specific surface area nanostructures are desirable in a wide range of sensing applications due to their longer light-trapping path and increased absorption. Engineering of the specific nanotree structure which possesses a high branch density turned out to be challenging from the experimental point of view, and certainly not adequately explored. This paper shows how to design substrates with a silicon nanotree structure for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications. Silicon nanotrees were synthesized by a Ag-Au nanocluster-catalyzed low- pressure chemical vapor deposition method (LPCVD). By the presented approaches, it is possible to manipulate branches’ number, length and thickness. The synthesized nanostructures are flexible after immersion in water which improves SERS performance. The amount of sputtered metal played a key role in preserving the flexibility of the nanotree structure. The obtained substrates with highly fractal nanostructure were tested on 4- mercaptophenylboronic acid (MPBA) to match the optimal SERS parameters. The silicon nanotrees fabrication, and particularly obtained SERS substrates plated with Ag and Au nanoparticles, demonstrated good features and a promising approach for further sensor development

Spectroscopy of Yb:Tm doped tellurite glasses for efficient infrared fiber laser

We performed extensive spectroscopy of tellurite glasses doped with high concentration of Tm ions for laser emission at around 2 micron wavelength. The aim of the work is to develop a glass suitable for single-frequency fiber laser. In fact such a kind of laser require the use of short cavity length and therefore high gain per unit length medium. Tellurite glasses allows high-doping concentration and are therefore an excellent candidate. In these paper we review our recent results. In particular we address the optical and thermo-mechanical properties of several tellurite glasses (75mol%Te02.20mol%ZnO. 5mol%Na2O) with Tm3+ doping up to 111,564 ppm

Photodarkening in Yb/Al/Ce Optical Fibers: Study of Photoinduced Defects by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

Yb/Ce/Al silica fiber preforms were studied by means of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance before and after exposure to high energy photons. Clustering of Yb3+ ions and creation of Al-OHC and Si-E’ defects were observed

Sensing Properties of Oxidized Nanostructured Silicon Surface on Vaporized Molecules

Porous silicon has been intensely studied for the past several decades and its applications were found in photovoltaics, biomedicine, and sensors. An important aspect for sensing devices is their long–term stability. One of the more prominent changes that occur with porous silicon as it is exposed to atmosphere is oxidation. In this work we study the influence of oxidation on the sensing properties of porous silicon. Porous silicon layers were prepared by electrochemical etching and oxidized in a tube furnace. We observed that electrical resistance of oxidized samples rises in response to the increasing ambient concentration of organic vapours and ammonia gas. Furthermore, we note the sensitivity is dependent on the oxygen treatment of the porous layer. This indicates that porous silicon has a potential use in sensing of organic vapours and ammonia gas when covered with an oxide layer

Silicon Nanowires Substrates Fabrication for Ultra-Sensitive Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Sensors

The silicon based substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) have been synthesized and tested. The silver-assisted electroless wet chemical etching method has been utilized for silicon nanowires production which has been proved as the promising SERS substrate. The morphology of the silicon nanowires coated with silver nanoparticles has been examined by scanning electron microscopy. The SERS measurements tested on rhodamine 6G molecules indicated the optimal silicon nanowire substrate production obtained for 5 M hydrofluoric acid and 30 mM silver nitrate etching solution. The results show SERS detection limit of 10–8 M rhodamine in aqueous solution. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Photodarkening mitigation in Yb-doped fiber lasers by 405 nm irradiation

We investigate the impact of 405 nm radiation on photodarkening evolution in Yb-doped fiber. Simultaneous photodarkening and photobleaching effects induced by 976 nm and 405 nm radiations respectively were investigated in a 1070 nm laser