Plexcitons, electric field gradient and electron–phonon coupling in tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS)

Abstract

Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) provides very high spatial resolution and detection sensitivity, so it has important applications in nano-scale molecular analysis. Plexciton is a polarization mode caused by a strongly coupled interaction between plasma excitons and excitons. It is a hot topic in plasma photonics research. We introduce the characteristics, production methods, observation methods and some applications of TERS. The electric field gradient (EFG) is an important factor affecting TERS resolution. The electron–phonon interaction is a fundamental inelastic interaction and plays an important role in current-carrying single-molecular junctions. This article summarizes the characteristics and applications of these three parts for readers to gain a preliminary understanding.