Double-layered nanoparticle stacks for surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy

We demonstrate that double-layered stacks of gold and insulator nanoparticles arranged on a flat gold surface dramatically enhance the sensitivity in absorption infrared microscopy. Through morphological variations of the nanoparticles, the frequency of the plasmon resonances can be tuned to match the frequency of the molecular vibration in the mid-infrared region. The results show that the nanostructures enhance the absorption signal of the molecules by a factor of up to similar to 2.2 x 10(6), while preserving their characteristic line-shape remarkably well.