Application of Ag‐Enriched Nanostructures Through Ga + Irradiation of Silver Butyrate Films in Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)

ABSTRACT Spin‐coated films based on silver butyrate precursor solutions are submitted to focused Ga + irradiation for the direct fabrication of Ag‐enriched nanostructures. We report that, through the optimization of the solutions’ concentration, the spin‐coating conditions, and the irradiation parameters, Ag‐enriched patterned films with a tunable microstructure are obtained. In the case of a microstructure consisting of large and continuous Ag‐enriched platelets, the patterned film is metallic, with resistivity down to 90 µΩ·cm. In the case of a microstructure consisting of small and discontinuous Ag‐enriched nanoparticles, the corresponding patterned film is found to be suitable as a Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) substrate. As proof of concept, the SERS signals produced by thiophenol solutions are measured and compared to a rough Ag film grown by sputtering, leading to a 200 times higher signal. Given the low Ga + irradiation fluence required to produce tunable Ag nanostructures with metallic or SERS functionality, the obtained results highlight the potential of silver butyrate precursor solutions for the high‐throughput printing of a nanomaterial with applications in nanoelectronics (metallic interconnects) and nanophotonics (SERS substrates).