Study of far-side geometrical enhancement in surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Recent advances in fabrication techniques have expanded the potential applications of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing, especially in the fields of chemical and biomolecular trace sensing. Noble metals of Au, Ag, Cu and Al are commonly used for nanostructured films fabrication. This PhD thesis investigated an increase in the signal from Ag SERS films on transparent substrates when the sample is illuminated in the far-side geometry compared to the conventional direct illumination. The main experimental results of the far-side SERS signal dependence on excitation wavelength, substrate material and angle of incidence were then compared to theoretical model predictions derived from complex Fresnel equations.