Phys.org January 11, 2021 To fabricate high‐density random metallic nanopatterns with accurately controlled nanogaps an international team of researchers (USA – SUNY Buffalo, China, Saudi Arabia) used four molecules (BZT, 4-MBA, BPT, and TPT), each with different lengths. They used atomic layer deposition and self-assembled monolayers instead of electron-beam lithography. The resulting SERS (surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy) chip with unprecedented uniformity is relatively inexpensive to produce and has gap size approaching the quantum regime of ≈0.78 nm. They demonstrated its potential for quantitative sensing with the relative standard deviation of 4.3% over large area. All chemicals have unique light-scattering signatures; therefore, […]
Tag Archives: Chemical sensor
Single atom-thin platinum makes a great chemical sensor
EurekAlert September 14, 2020 Researchers in Sweden prepared one atom thin, electrically continuous platinum layers by physical vapor deposition on the carbon zero layer (buffer layer) grown epitaxially on silicon carbide. With a thin Pt layer, the electrical conductivity of the metal is strongly modulated when interacting with chemical analytes, due to charges being transferred to/from Pt. The strong interaction with chemical species, together with the scalability of the material, enables the fabrication of chemiresistor devices for electrical read‐out of chemical species with sub part‐per‐billion detection limits. This opens a route for resilient and high sensitivity chemical detection and can […]