Au-modified silicon nanowires for surface-enhanced fluorescence of Ln3+ (Ln = Pr, Nd, Ho, and Er)

The interaction of the surface plasmons of gold nanoparticles on silicon nanowires with fluorophores, lanthanide ions (praseodymium ions, Pr3+, neodymium ions Nd3+, holmium ions Ho3+, and erbium ions Er3+) was investigated. In the presence of Au/Si nanomaterials, the fluorescence peaks were significantly enhanced, which resulted in about 2 orders of magnitude enhancement. The photoluminescence studies revealed that the enhanced fluorescence originates from the local field enhancement around Ln3+ ions, caused by the electronic plasmons resonance of the gold nanoparticles. Results showed that this Au/Si nanostructure had larger enhancement factor than that caused by unsupported Au nanoparticles. These results might be explained by the local field overlap originated from the closed and fixed gold nanoparticles on silicon nanowires.