Low-Background Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Enabled by a Plasmon Thin-Film Waveguide Probe

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is a nano-optical approach to extract spatially resolved chemical information with nanometer precision. However, in the case of direct-illumination TERS, which is often employed in commercial TERS instruments, strong fluorescence or far-field Raman signals from the illuminated areas may be excited as a background. They may overwhelm the near-field TERS signal and dramatically decrease the near-field to far-field signal contrast of TERS spectra. It is still challenging for TERS to study the surface of fluorescent materials or a bulk sample that cannot be placed on an Au/Ag substrate. In this study, we developed an indirect-illumination TERS probe that allows a laser to be focused on a flat interface of a thin-film waveguide located far away from the region generating the TERS signal. Surface plasmon polaritons are generated stably on the waveguide and eventually accumulated at the tip apex, thereby producing a spatially and energetically confined hotspot to ensure stable and high-resolution TERS measurements with a low background. With this thin-film waveguide probe, TERS spectra with obvious contrast from a diamond plate can be acquired. Furthermore, the TERS technique based on this probe exhibits excellent TERS signal stability, a long lifetime, and good spatial resolution. This technique is expected to have commercial potential and enable further popularization and development of TERS technology as a powerful analytical method.