Dataset for SERS plasmonic array: Width, spacing, and thin film oxide thickness optimization

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) improves the scope and power of Raman spectroscopy by taking advantage of plasmonic nanostructures, which have the potential to enhance Raman signal strength by several orders of magnitude, which can allow for the detection of analyte molecules. The dataset presented provides results of a computational study that used a finite element method (FEM) to model gold nanowires on a silicon dioxide substrate. The survey calculated the surface average of optical surface enhancement due to plasmonic effects across the entire model and studied various geometric parameters regarding the width of the nanowires, spacing between the nanowires, and thickness of the silicon dioxide substrate. From this data, enhancement values were found to have a periodicity due to the thickness of the silicon dioxide. Additionally, strong plasmonic enhancement for smaller distances between nanowires were found, as expected; however, additional surface enhancement at greater gap distances were observed, which were not anticipated, possibly due to resonance with periodic dimensions and the frequency of the light. This data presentation will benefit future SERS studies by probing further into the computational and mathematical material presented previously

Establishing a Large-Scale Field Experiment to Assess the Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Species and Food Webs

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is one of the most obvious hallmarks of human presence in an ecosystem. The rapidly increasing use of artificial light has fundamentally transformed nightscapes throughout most of the globe, although little is known about how ALAN impacts the biodiversity and food webs of illuminated ecosystems. We developed a large-scale experimental infrastructure to study the effects of ALAN on a light-naïve, natural riparian (i.e., terrestrial-aquatic) ecosystem. Twelve street lights (20 m apart) arranged in three rows parallel to an agricultural drainage ditch were installed on each of two sites located in a grassland ecosystem in northern Germany. A range of biotic, abiotic, and photometric data are collected regularly to study the short- and long-term effects of ALAN on behavior, species interactions, physiology, and species composition of communities. Here we describe the infrastructure setup and data collection methods, and characterize the study area including photometric measurements. None of the measured parameters differed significantly between sites in the period before illumination. Results of one short-term experiment, carried out with one site illuminated and the other acting as a control, demonstrate the attraction of ALAN by the immense and immediate increase of insect catches at the lit street lights. The experimental setup provides a unique platform for carrying out interdisciplinary research on sustainable lighting

Dataset for SERS Plasmonic Array: Width, Spacing, and Thin Film Oxide Thickness Optimization

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) improves the scope and power of Raman spectroscopy by taking advantage of plasmonic nanostructures, which have the potential to enhance Raman signal strength by several orders of magnitude, which can allow for the detection of analyte molecules. The dataset presented provides results of a computational study that used a finite element method (FEM) to model gold nanowires on a silicon dioxide substrate. The survey calculated the surface average of optical surface enhancement due to plasmonic effects across the entire model and studied various geometric parameters regarding the width of the nanowires, spacing between the nanowires, and thickness of the silicon dioxide substrate. From this data, enhancement values were found to have a periodicity due to the thickness of the silicon dioxide. Additionally, strong plasmonic enhancement for smaller distances between nanowires were found, as expected; however, additional surface enhancement at greater gap distances were observed, which were not anticipated, possibly due to resonance with periodic dimensions and the frequency of the light. This data presentation will benefit future SERS studies by probing further into the computational and mathematical material presented previously