Fabrication of Silver Nano-Dendrites on Optical Fibre Core by Laser-Induced Method for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Applications.

In this work, we present a novel fabrication method for making the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probe based on silver (Ag) nano-dendrites which are grown and deposited on the end of multi-mode fibre core by a simple and low-cost laser-induced technique. The morphology of the Ag-nanoparticles (AgNPs) could be controlled by the experimental conditions such as laser power, illumination time, and concentration of the reaction solution. The morphology and chemical composition of SERS fibre probes are characterized by high-resolution scanning electron microscope (HR-SEM) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), respectively.

Coherent emission at 537 nm from IR-pumped erbium-doped silica microspheres.

Low pump threshold upconversion narrowband emission at 537 nm in a simple system of erbium-doped silica microsphere at the tip of a fiber is reported. The emission comes out radially (not from whispering gallery modes) and is strongly enhanced by a thin metal coating, in particular with platinum. This enhancement seems to be related to the coupling with surface plasmons.