A SERS-activated nanocrystalline Pd substrate and its nanopatterning leading to biochip fabrication

Nanocrystalline metallic Pd films have been produced by thermolysis of Pd hexadecanethiolate deposited on a Si surface. The particle size was in the range of 50-60 nm based on electron and atomic force microscopy. The Pd surface produced was found to be surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active with an enhancement factor of approximate to 10(5). The electron-resist behavior of Pd thiolate is exploited in conceptualizing a prototype chip with patterned Pd regions that are SERS active, called SERS bits, which host different biomolecules.