https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-022-00463-3
Regular Article
Role of Au–Ag alloy plasmonic layer thickness over pyramidal silicon in controlling SERS activity
Surface Modification and Applications Laboratory (SMAL), Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, 140001, Rupnagar, Punjab, India
a
shinki.physics@iitrpr.ac.in
c
sarkar@iitrpr.ac.in
Received:
31
October
2021
Accepted:
19
January
2022
Published online:
29
January
2022
In this study, we systematically explore the role played by thickness of SERS functional metallic plasmonic layer over pyramidal Si pre-templates in controlling the SERS behavior. For this purpose, three different thicknesses, i.e., 30, 50, and 70 nm, of Au–Ag alloy nanolayer were investigated over topographically variant pyramidal Si templates. The fabrication of pyramidal templates was followed using a simple and cost-intensive anisotropic wet chemical etch approach by having a variation in etching time. The SERS response of R6G dye probe molecule on these substrates shows a strong dependence on both thickness and template topography. A substantially high SERS contribution comes from the 50 nm-thick film over a surface with dense and small pyramids. An enhancement factor of 8.6 
10
is observed for this case. Finally, a suitable thickness is proposed for a better SERS response. This work suggests a significant role of thickness in designing potential SERS substrates.
Shinki and Shreya Jain have equally contributed to this work.
The original online version of this article was revised due to a mistake in the name of the author Shinki.
A correction to this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-022-00477-x.
Copyright comment corrected publication 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022. corrected publication 2022
