OPTICAL FIBER SURFACE ENHANCED RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY (SERS) PROBE
First Claim
1. A surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) probe apparatus comprising:
- an optical fiber having an optical path and a terminal end that terminates the optical path;
a plurality of nanoscale field concentrator (NFC) structures, first ends of the NFC structures being adjacent to the terminal end of optical fiber; and
nanoparticles on surfaces of the plurality of NFC structures, the nanoparticles being Raman-active to an analyte.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) probe apparatus and a method of SERS probing employ Raman-active surfaces of a plurality of nanoscale field concentrator (NFC) structures at a terminal end of an optical fiber. The SERS probe apparatus includes an optical fiber having an optical path and a terminal end that terminates the optical path. The SERS probe apparatus further includes a plurality of NFC structures and nanoparticles on surfaces of the plurality of NFC structures. First ends of the NFC structures are adjacent to the terminal end of optical fiber. The nanoparticles are Raman active to an analyte.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) probe apparatus comprising:
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an optical fiber having an optical path and a terminal end that terminates the optical path; a plurality of nanoscale field concentrator (NFC) structures, first ends of the NFC structures being adjacent to the terminal end of optical fiber; and nanoparticles on surfaces of the plurality of NFC structures, the nanoparticles being Raman-active to an analyte. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) probe system comprising:
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a plurality of nanoscale field concentrator (NFC) structures, the NFC structures being adjacent to a terminal end of an optical fiber, the terminal end intersecting an optical path of the optical fiber, metal nanoparticles on surfaces of the NFC structure plurality; and an illumination source to illuminate the metal nanoparticles. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) probing, the method comprising:
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exposing surfaces of a plurality of nanoscale field concentrator (NFC) structures to an analyte, the surfaces being coated with nanoparticles, the plurality of NFC structures being adjacent to a terminal end of an optical fiber, the terminal end intersecting an optical path of the optical fiber; illuminating the surfaces exposed to the analyte with an illumination signal to induce surface enhanced Raman scattering from the analyte, the surface enhanced Raman scattering producing a Raman scattered signal; and intercepting and guiding a portion of the Raman scattered signal using the optical fiber, the intercepted and guided portion of the Raman scattered signal being conducted away from the terminal end of the optical fiber within an optical path of the optical fiber. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification