Durable plasmonic cap arrays on flexible substrate with real-time optical tunability for high-fidelity SERS devices.

Active tunable plasmonic cap arrays were fabricated on a flexible stretchable substrate using a combination of colloidal lithography, lift-up soft lithography, and subsequent electrostatic assembly of gold nanoparticles. The arrangement of the plasmonic caps could be tuned under external strain to deform the substrate in reversible. Real-time variation in the arrangement could be used to tune the optical properties and the electromagnetic field enhancement, thereby a proving a promising mechanism for optimizing the SERS sensitivity.