Enhancement of the Raman Scattering Signal Due to a Nanolens Effect

Abstract

The Raman scattering signal of a substrate is investigated using a polystyrene nanolens of a few hundred nanometers inserted within the light path of a confocal microspectrometer. As observed in solid immersion microscopy, the nanolens is at the origin of the improvement of the spatial resolution. Furthermore, enhancement of the Raman scattering signal of the substrate is observed when measuring through the polystyrene bead. The enhancement factors have been measured for silicon, highly ordered pyrolytic graphite, and gallium arsenide substrates. This setup provides a new way of enhancing the Raman signal by means of a nanolens.