An optical fibre microprobe for surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensing

The scattering of laser light from nanometre-scale gold and silver particles is extremely sensitive to chemicals on the metal surface. The spectrum of the scattered light can therefore be used to sense a wide range of chemicals, with potential applications in cancer diagnostics, environmental monitoring and detection of food contaminants. This research demonstrated the feasibility of a micro-miniaturised optical fibre probe with improved sensitivity. A robust surface chemistry was also developed for sensing difficult target molecules at ultra-low concentrations. These innovations have paved the way for future research into practical sensing applications.