Recent progress in the observation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） is reviewed to examine the possibility of finding a novel route for the effective photoexcitation of materials. The importance of well-c...Recent progress in the observation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） is reviewed to examine the possibility of finding a novel route for the effective photoexcitation of materials. The importance of well-controlled SERS experiments on a single molecule at a single site is discussed based on the difference in the information obtained from ensemble SERS measurements using mul- tiple active sites with an uncontrolled number of molecules. A single-molecule SERS observation performed at a mechanically controllable breaking junction with a simultaneous conductivity mea- surement provides clear evidence of the drastic changes both in the intensity and in the Raman mode selectivity of the electromagnetic field generated by localized surface plasmon resonance. Careful con- trol of the field at a few-nanometer-wide gap of a metal nanodimer results in the modification of the selection rule of electronic excitation of an isolated single-walled carbon nanotube. The examples shown in this review suggest that a single-site SERS observation could be used as a novel tool to find, develop, and implement applications of plasmon-induced photoexcitation of materials.展开更多
文摘Recent progress in the observation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering （SERS） is reviewed to examine the possibility of finding a novel route for the effective photoexcitation of materials. The importance of well-controlled SERS experiments on a single molecule at a single site is discussed based on the difference in the information obtained from ensemble SERS measurements using mul- tiple active sites with an uncontrolled number of molecules. A single-molecule SERS observation performed at a mechanically controllable breaking junction with a simultaneous conductivity mea- surement provides clear evidence of the drastic changes both in the intensity and in the Raman mode selectivity of the electromagnetic field generated by localized surface plasmon resonance. Careful con- trol of the field at a few-nanometer-wide gap of a metal nanodimer results in the modification of the selection rule of electronic excitation of an isolated single-walled carbon nanotube. The examples shown in this review suggest that a single-site SERS observation could be used as a novel tool to find, develop, and implement applications of plasmon-induced photoexcitation of materials.
