White light transmission spectroscopy for rapid quality control imperfection identification in nanoimprinted surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy substrates

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dc.contributor.authorHardy, Mikeen
dc.contributor.authorChu, Hin On Martinen
dc.contributor.authorPauly, Sereneen
dc.contributor.authorCavanagh, Katie F.en
dc.contributor.authorHill, Breandán J.F.en
dc.contributor.authorWiggins, Jasonen
dc.contributor.authorSchilling, Alinaen
dc.contributor.authorGoldberg Oppenheimer, Polaen
dc.contributor.authorGrover, Liam M.en
dc.contributor.authorWinfield, Richard J.en
dc.contributor.authorScott, Jade N.en
dc.contributor.authorDoherty, Matthew D.en
dc.contributor.authorMcCarron, Ryanen
dc.contributor.authorHendren, William R.en
dc.contributor.authorDawson, Paulen
dc.contributor.authorBowman, Robert M.en
dc.contributor.funderSmart Nano NIen
dc.contributor.funderEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Councilen
dc.contributor.funderUK Research and Innovationen
dc.contributor.funderQueen’s University Belfasten
dc.contributor.funderWellcome Trusten
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-30T08:44:41Z
dc.date.available2025-04-30T08:44:41Z
dc.date.issued2025en
dc.description.abstractMiniaturized biomedical sensor development requires improvements in lithographic processes in terms of cost and scalability. Of particular promise is nanoimprint lithography (NIL), but this can suffer from a lack of high-fidelity pattern reproducibility between master and imprinted substrates. Herein, we present a multidisciplinary investigation into gold- and iron-coated NIL sensors including custom optics and spectroscopy, scanning probe microscopy, and data analysis insights. Polyurethane NIL-made nanodome arrays were interrogated with white light transmission spectroscopy, coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) to investigate potential offsets in the photon-substrate plane interaction angle, an imperfection in NIL substrates. Large-angle mismatches (2-10°) were found to be easily discernible by PCA with statistically significant differences (p = 0.05). Unexpected dips in some spectra are postulated to be due to interacting localized and propagating plasmon polaritons, which is supported with a coupled two-oscillator model. General insights are made regarding the interpretation of PCA loadings, which should be related to physical phenomena, and where maximum variance is not necessarily the most meaningful criterion. Smaller angles (<1°) show no significant differences with overlapping confidence intervals in PCA space. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements on gold-coated nanodomes returned relative standard deviations of 6-10% via analysis of gelatin, which is of interest as a nasal lining approximation. Interestingly, nanodomes coated in iron produced small, but useful SERS enhancements, which was subsequently interrogated via scanning thermal probe microscopy showing temperature increases of up to 5 °C over the area of one nanostructure (∼1 μm2). Nanostructures remained intact despite the surprising large local temperature increase relative to a gold-coated comparison sample (∼2 °C). The current study provides a framework for the rapid and accurate quality control assessment of imperfections in NIL-produced nanostructures for sensing applications in SERS and surface plasmon resonance, which may need precisely fabricated nanostructures.en
dc.description.sponsorshipWellcome Trust (174ISSFPP; EP/V029983/1; EP/L016346/1)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationHardy, M., Chu, H. O. M., Pauly, S., Cavanagh, K. F., Hill, B. J., Wiggins, J., Schilling, A., Goldberg Oppenheimer, P., Grover, L. M., Winfield, R. J. and Scott, J. N. (2025) 'White light transmission spectroscopy for rapid quality control imperfection identification in nanoimprinted surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy substrates', ACS Measurement Science Au, 5(2), pp.250-263. DOI: 10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.5c00003en
dc.identifier.doi10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.5c00003en
dc.identifier.endpage263en
dc.identifier.issn2694250Xen
dc.identifier.issued2
dc.identifier.journaltitleACS Measurement Science Auen
dc.identifier.startpage250en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/17358
dc.identifier.volume5
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherAmerican Chemical Societyen
dc.rights© 2025, the Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This publication is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectBiosensingen
dc.subjectCustom-built opticsen
dc.subjectMachine learningen
dc.subjectNanoimprint lithographyen
dc.subjectNanothermal measurementsen
dc.subjectSurface-enhanced raman spectroscopyen
dc.subjectWhite light transmissionen
dc.titleWhite light transmission spectroscopy for rapid quality control imperfection identification in nanoimprinted surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy substratesen
dc.typeArticle (peer reviewed)en
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