Plasmonic nanopore-based platforms for single-molecule Raman scattering

We propose and demonstrate a novel plasmonic nanopore platform based on a bowtie-nanopore structure, for single-molecule sensing. In this nano-structure, nano-bowties are integrated with solid-state nanopores to provide localized surface plasmon resonances for signal enhancement. We design and optimize the nano-structure by tuning both the bowtie gap and the bowtie angle, and investigate their influences on field enhancement, thereby achieving single-molecule sensitivity. In addition, we study the field enhancement by introducing an engineered photonic nano-cavity. This further strengthens the electric enhancement. An overall Raman enhancement factor of 2×108 is achieved in our simulation. This is believed to be sufficient for single-molecule sensing. The proposed bowtie-nanopore structure can be multiplexed on a single substrate for simultaneous multi-channel detection, paving the way for demanding applications such as DNA sequencing.