Fabrication of copper substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering using the microscratching method

The method of a tip-based microscratching is used to fabricate micro/nano structures on single crystal copper (110) and (111) planes under room temperature. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering enhancement performance of the structured Cu surface has been studied by rhodamine 6G probe molecules. Such micro/nano structures can be machined by varying the scratching parameters such as the feed and the normal load. Experimental results show that the high surface-enhanced Raman scattering enhancement is attributed to the nanostructures formed by pile-ups between adjacent grooves and nanocracks at the bottom of the microsquare. In addition, the Raman intensity of the crystallographic plane (110) is stronger than that of the crystallographic plane (111). This work verifies that the microscratching method is a feasible way to machine active surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates on Cu surfaces with low cost and high efficiency.