Bimetallic porous nanopatterns for SERS‑based sensing platforms

The development of easy, robust and cheap approaches for nanopatterning metallic surfaces is of great importance for many plasmon-based techniques, including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Herein, we report on the fabrication of bimetallic plasmonic nanopatterns for SERS applications. The fabrication protocol includes two steps: in the first step, a porous silver-based nanopattern was achieved by applying an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) on a flat Ag-film, which gives rise to a coral-like structure. In the second step, a gold layer was deposited on this pattern, acting as a protective layer against silver oxidation. Our analysis reveals that the developed bimetallic nanopatterns exhibit a relevant amplification and broad spectral response. Moreover, the fabrication protocol is easy and cost effective, therefore potentially usable also for mass production. Globally, it holds promise for its use in SERS-based sensing platforms for sensitive detection of targets molecules and in-vitro analysis of cells.