Slow plasmon-polaritons in a bilayer metallic structure

Apart from the main plasmon-polariton resonance of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) occurring at 480 – 530 nm, an additional resonance was observed for substrates with two silver layers separated by a dielectric layer which support extra plasmon modes with decreased group velocities. The novel SERS resonance is shifted towards lower energies and has comparable amplitude, its exact energy position being determined by the thickness of the dielectric interlayer. The experimental findings provide a ground for the engineering of SERS-substrates with the spectral position of the additional resonance matched with the photon energy of the pump laser over a fairly wide range of laser wavelengths.