Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 81 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Idaho, 2005. / Also available online in PDF format Abstract. "October 2005." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-203).

No description available.

To truly realize and exploit the extremely powerful information given from surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy, it is critical to develop an understanding of how to design highly sensitive and selective substrates, produce specific and label-free spectra of target analytes, and fabricate long-lasting and in-the-field ready platforms for trace detection applications. The study presented in this dissertation investigated the application of two- and three-dimensional substrates composed of highly-ordered metal nanostructures. These systems were designed to specifically detect target analytes that would enable the trace, label-free, and real-time detection of chemicals and biomolecules. Specifically, this work provides new insight into the required properties for maximizing electromagnetic and chemical Raman enhancement in three-dimensional porous alumina substrates by designing metal nanostructure shape, density, aggregated state, and most importantly aligning the substrate pore size with the excitation wavelength used for plasmonic enhancement leading to the ppb detection of vapor phase hazardous chemicals. A new micropatterned silver nanoparticle substrate fabricated via soft lithography with specific functionalization was developed, which allows the simultaneous analyte and background detection for trace concentrations of the target biomolecule, immunoglobulin G. Also, a novel functionalized SERS hot spot fabrication technique, which utilizes highly specific aptamers as both the mediator for electrostatic assembly of gold nanoframe dimers as well as the biorecognition element for the target, riboflavin, to properly locate the tethered biomolecule within the enhanced region for trace detection, was demonstrated. We suggest that the understanding of SERS phenomena that occur at the interface of nanostructures and target molecules combined with the active functionalization and organization of metal nanostructures and trace detection of analytes discussed in this study can provide important insight for addressing some of the challenges facing the field of SERS sensor design such as high sensitivity and selectivity, reliable and repeatable label-free identification of spectral peaks, and the well-controlled assembly of functional metal nanostructures. This research will have a direct impact on the future application of SERS sensors for the trace detection of target species in chemical, environmental, and biomedical fields through the development of specific design criteria and fabrication processes.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 274-296). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-276).

Venir sonder de faibles quantités de molécules nécessite des capteurs ultra-sensibles. Il a été démontré que les capteurs plasmoniques pouvaient remplir ce rôle. Toutefois, même après trente ans de recherches, beaucoup de questions restent sans réponses. Dans cette étude nous tentons d'y répondre : que se passe-t-il lorsqu'une molécule s'adsorbe sur la surface d'une nanoparticule ? Lorsqu'une monocouche de molécule s'adsorbe ? Et que se passe-t-il pour les molécules suivantes ? Peut-on améliorer simplement la sensibilité et la lisibilité des nano-capteurs plasmoniques? Nous démontrons expérimentalement un comportement singulier lorsque la quantité de molécules dans le champ proche des nanoparticules est très faible, typiquement de quelques zeptogrammes. Afin de mesurer cette infime quantité de matière, des solutions d'amplification des signaux sont étudiées comme l'intégration de capteurs sur des micro-lentilles axicon, ou encore sur des nano-cavités de type Fabry-Perot. Nous avons développé les micro-lentilles axicon afin de palier la faible intensité du signal émanant de nanoparticules uniques. Elles ont pour but de redistribuer le champ électromagnétique, en faisceau de Bessel de faible ouverture numérique, donc facilement mesurable. Les nano-cavités optiques ont, quant à elles, étaient développées afin de diminuer l'amortissement des résonances plasmon et ainsi affiner les résonances et augmenter la lisibilité des capteurs.Toutes ces études ont un même but : détecter in-situ les marqueurs de maladies à des concentrations infinitésimales afin de traiter les patients avant les premiers symptômes / Ultra sensitive sensors are required to probe very low concentrations of molecules. It has been shown that plasmonic nano-sensors could play this role. Nevertheless, even after thirteen years of research, a lot of questions remain unanswered.We will try to answer them in this study: what happens when a single molecule is adsorbed on a nanoparticle surface? In a monolayer? And what happens for the next layer of molecules? Can we easily enhance the sensitivity and the readability of sensors? We demonstrate experimentally a singular behavior when the quantity of molecules in the near-field region is very low, typically in the zeptogram level. To measure the low quantity of matter, different techniques to enhance the signal are studied: integration of sensor on axicon micro-lenses of Fabry-Perot like nano-cavities. We developed axicon micro-lenses to increase the intensity of unique nanoparticle signal. They redistribute the electromagnetic field into a Bessel beam with low numerical aperture, allowing an easy collection in far field. Nano-cavities have been designed to decrease the damping and refine the plasmonic resonance to increase the readability of the sensors. All these studies have the same target: to detect in-situ disease markers at very low concentrations in order to treat the patients before the first symptoms