Boosting a sub-10 nm nanogap array by plasmon-triggered waveguide resonance

Gap-type metallic nanostructures are widely used in catalytic reactions, sensors, and photonics because the hotspot effect on these nanostructures supports giant local electromagnetic field enhancement. To achieve hotspots, researchers devote themselves to reducing gap distances, even to 1 nm. However, current techniques to fabricate such narrow gaps in large areas are still challenging. Herein, a new coupling way to boost the sub-10 nm plasmonic nanogap array is developed, based on the plasmon-triggered optical waveguide resonance via near-field coupling. This effect leads to an amplified local electromagnetic field within the gap regions equivalent to narrower gaps, which is evidenced experimentally by the surface-enhanced Raman scattering intensity of probed molecules located in the gap and the finite-difference time-domain numerical simulation results. This study provides a universal strategy to promote the performance of the existing hotspot configurations without changing their geometries. (C) 2020 Chinese Laser Press