Single NANO-object for studying the interaction between acoustic VIbration and Plasmon : towards Low Frequency Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy – NANOVIP

This proposal aims to study the dynamical behaviours of single nanoparticles ranging from 50 to 250 nm. The realization of this project will first need the development of a new technique to study single metallic nano-object dynamic, which will be subsequently be applied to a large variety of nano-objects.
For this purpose we will develop a new technique based on the plasmonic enhancement of Raman scattering in the very low frequency range (1 to 100 GHz), specific to the vibrations of the nanoparticles: Low Frequency Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (LF-SERS). We will then start by improving the knowledge on plasmon-vibration coupling by studying for the first time the low frequency Raman scattering of a single metallic nanostructure thus giving the possibility to overcome the averaging problems (size dispersion, misalignement, etc…). In this initial situation the metallic nanoparticle will be thus at the same time the “enhancing” and the “vibrating” object, i.e. the enhancement will be “intrinsic” to the nanoparticle.
Then varying different parameters such as shape and surrounding medium it will be possible to study the coupling plasmon-vibration and finally the enhancement process, leading to the development of a robust technique that would be applied to non-metallic nanoparticle analysis. At this step we would consider the “extrinsic” enhancement approaching non-metallic nano-object from plasmonic nanostructures. This project will allow improving the knowledge on the coupling between plasmon and low frequency vibration, with the objective to use it to develop a new type of single-particle spectroscopy: Low Frequency Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, which could be used in the future as an alternative technique to standard SERS for the detection and analysis of biological nanoparticles such as proteins or viruses.
During 36 months a team of young researchers from the newly created “Institut Lumière Matière” (ILM, UMR5306) , will join their skills to improve the “savoir-faire” already present in the laboratory through the originality and novelty of the NANOVIP project.