Nanoimprinted optical fibres: Biotemplated nanostructures for SERS sensing

• Published in: Biosensors & bioelectronics Vol. 24; no. 5; pp. 1531 - 1535
• Main Authors: Kostovski, G., White, D.J., Mitchell, A., Austin, M.W., Stoddart, P.R.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Antireflection; Biological and medical sciences; Biosensing Techniques - instrumentation; Biosensing Techniques - methods; Biotechnology; Biotemplate; Cicada; Endface; Equipment Design; Equipment Failure Analysis; Fiber Optic Technology - instrumentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hemiptera - anatomy & histology; Nanoimprint lithography (NIL); Nanostructures - chemistry; Optical fibre; Replicate; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spectrum Analysis, Raman - instrumentation; Surface Properties; Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS); Transducers; Wings, Animal - anatomy & histology; Optical fibre; Antireflection; Replicate; Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS); Nanoimprint lithography (NIL); Cicada; Endface; Biotemplate; Surface enhanced scattering; Lithography; Nanostructure; Optical fiber
• ISSN: 0956-5663; 1873-4235
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2008.10.016

Optical fibre surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors offer a potential solution for monitoring low chemical concentrations in remote or in situ sensing scenarios. The SERS effect relies on the interaction of analyte molecules with nanostructured metal surfaces. We demonstrate a nanoscale biotemplating approach to fabricating these sensors, using nanoimprint lithography to replicate cicada wing antireflective nanostructures onto the end faces of standard silica optical fibres. These SERS-compatible nanoarrays are coated with silver to make them SERS active, and thiophenol and rhodamine 6G are used as test analytes, from which strong SERS spectra are collected using both direct endface illumination and through-fibre interrogation. This combination of biological templates with nanoscale replication and optical fibres demonstrates a high-resolution, low-cost approach to fabricating high-performance optical fibre SERS sensors.