Probing single-molecule by surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering with linearly and circularly polarized laser

Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was incubated in silver sols with different low concentrations and its surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) spectra, excited by linearly and circularly polarized light, respectively, were studied. At the single-molecule level the SERRS spectra were recorded in 10−13 M dye colloidal solution. Spectral inhomogeneous behaviors from single-molecule were observed such as spectral polarization, spectral diffusion and intensity fluctuations of vibrational lines. Difference between SERRS spectra of R6G excited by linearly and circularly polarized light and the effect of the polarizing angle of Raman signal relative to the slit of spectrograph on the Raman spectral polarization were analyzed and measured experimentally. Circularly polarized laser and the correction of the polarizing angle of Raman signal are necessary to avoid fake results in the measuring of Raman spectral of single-molecule, which was not noticed in initial papers.