We report surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mediated Raman microscopy on dielectric films in contact with a Ag layer at 785 nm with reasonable signal levels at a spatial resolution approaching the diffraction limit. This scheme allows the acquisition of Raman spectra and images through thin metal films that are opaque under conventional illumination. The evanescent decay of the SPP field dictates the depth of specimen that is probed under these conditions, making this technique attractive for characterization of buried layers. In this talk, the acquisiton of Raman microspectra and images of a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) film coated with a nominally 60 nm thick silver layer utilizing this novel illumination and detection scheme are reported. Imaging experiemnts on spatially heterogeneous P3HT/[6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) films that lend some insight into the spatial resolution attainable with this approach will also be discussed.

Surface plasmon polariton Raman microsopy

244th National Meeting (2012)

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