Surface-Enhanced Raman

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

SERS is a phenomenon caused by interacting a laser beam with molecules adsorbed on certain surfaces, such as silver or gold, causing an enhancement of 5-6 orders of magnitude in Raman signal. One theory is that the interaction of the laser beam with irregularities on the metal surface excites conduction electrons leading to a surface plasmon resonance and a strong enhancement of electric field.

However, SERS spectra can be difficult to interpret since the normal Raman spectrum of a molecule is not necessarily the same as that same molecule adsorbed onto a SERS substrate. To try and combat this, surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopy (SERRS) has been developed.