Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Properties of Titanium Nitride Films on Black Silicon Substrates

Titanium nitride (TiN) nanostructures were manufactured by depositing a thin film on a needle shaped structure of black silicon. The resulting TiN needle structure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy. The surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties of the created substrate was assessed using a probe molecule (Rhodamine 6G) showing strong enhancement of the original Raman signal on the order of 10(2). The created TiN surfaces showed to have promising Raman enhancement properties to create SERS substrates for sensing applications and being alternative for the most used materials such as gold or silver.