Toward nanofabrication of SERS substrates with two-photon polymerization

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has shown its ability to characterize biological substances down to a single-molecule level without a specific biorecognition mechanism. Various nanofabrication technologies enable SERS substrate prototyping and mass manufacturing. This study reports a complete cycle of design, fabrication, prototyping, and metrology of SERS substrates based on two-photon polymerization (2PP). Highly controllable direct laser writing allows the fabrication of individual nanopillars with up to an aspect ratio of 4. The developed SERS substrates show up to 106 Raman signal enhancement, comparable to commercial substrates. Moreover, the rapid prototyping of the 2PP-printed SERS substrates takes from a minute to less than 2 hours, depending upon the nano-printing approach and aspect ratio requirements. The process is well-controlled and reproducible for achieving a uniform distribution of nanostructure arrays, allowing the SERS substrates to be used for a broad range of applications and the characterization of different molecules.