Fabrication of Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering Substrates Based on Si Nanowires and Gold Nanoparticles Using Photolithography

In this report, we present an advanced approach for the fabrication of active surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silicon nanowires (SiNWs) using a combination of photolithography, metal‐assisted chemical etching (MACE) methods and sputtering. In the first step, the photolithography technique is used to create ordered structures on a silicon wafer. In the next step, Ag nanoparticles are deposited onto the Si wafer, followed by chemical etching to form Si nanowires. Finally, the Si nanowires are coated with AuNPs to produce a SERS‐active layer. The results show a SERS enhancement factor as high as 1.4 × 10 ⁶ . The detection limit was found to be 0.1 ppm for malachite green (MG) and 1 ppm for carbendazim (CBZ) using these substrates. The measured signal exhibits high uniformity.