1-Dimensional Periodic Grating and Plasmonic Hybridized Metamaterial SERS Fabricated by Nanotransfer Printing

As expectations for human lifespan rise, the demand for rapid and accurate medical diagnostics has never been greater. Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) excels in the biosensor field due to its high specificity, rapidity, and potential for single-molecule sensitivity, making it highly advantageous for industrialization. However, quantification in SERS is challenging due to the small hotspot size (1-2 nm) and substantial spot variation (>15%). In this study, we address these quantification challenges by integrating SERS with a one-dimensional periodic metasurface. We employed thermally assisted nanotransfer printing (T-nTP) to fabricate an 80 nm periodic grating pattern, providing a cost-effective and time-efficient alternative to ArF lithography. Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering (GISAXS) analysis confirmed that the pattern quality was comparable to that of ArF lithography, achieving significant efficiency gains in both time and cost. This approach reduced spot variation to approximately 1% and extended the hotspots, as demonstrated through Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulations. Additionally, we observed the electric field propagation in a one-dimensional direction due to Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) coupling, occurring exclusively in TM mode. This study confirms the potential of integrating grating-structured metasurfaces to achieve superior SERS performance and reveals unique optical phenomena. The resulting SERS chip, characterized by cost-effectiveness, time efficiency, and excellent performance, shows promise as a next-generation high-performance sensor.