Non-resonant Raman spectroscopy of individual ZnO nanowires via Au nanorod surface plasmons

We present a non-resonant Raman spectroscopy study of individual ZnO nanowires mediated by Au nanorod surface plasmons. In this approach, selective excitation of the plasmonic oscillations with radiation energy below the semiconductor bandgap was used to probe surface optical modes of individual ZnO nanowires without simultaneous excitation of bulk phonons modes or band-edge photoluminescence. The development of a reproducible method for decoration of nanowires with colloidal Au nanorods allowed performing an extensive statistical analysis addressing the variability and reproducibility of the Raman features found in the hybrid nanostructures. An estimated field enhancement factor of 103 was…