Reproducible SERS substrates on optical fiber tips by nanosphere lithography

This paper reports on the assessment of a simple and economical self-assembly methodology to obtain reproducible substrates onto the optical fiber tip for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) applications. The method relies on the use of the nanosphere lithography of the optical fiber end facet. A careful analysis has been carried out to investigate the capability of the proposed procedure to realize repeatable pattern on the optical fiber tip. Finally, we demonstrate the effective application of the patterned OFTs as SERS nanoprobes.