Patent ID: 7639356

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a mechanically stable substrate selected from the group consisting of a semiconductor, metal, and dielectric; and at least two nanowires on the substrate, the nanowires comprising a core and a metal shell, wherein the core is selected from the group consisting of a semiconductor and a dielectric, thereby forming a nanowire-composite to allow plasmon coupling for enhancements of the electric fields and enhancements of the surface enhanced Raman signal (SERS) and enhancements of the chemical or biological specificity and sensitivity; wherein the at least two nanowires comprises a plurality of nanowires; wherein the plurality of nanowires is a random or ordered three dimensional wire array forming a high density of nanowires for enhanced sensitivities; wherein the nanowires are selected from the group consisting of Ga 2 O 3 , ZnO, SiO 2 , InAs, InSb, SiC and GaN; wherein the metal shell is Ag or Au and is formed by e-beam evaporation or electroless solution-based deposition; wherein the nanowires have a diameter of from about 30 nm to about 150 nm and are grown by one selected from the group consisting of a vapor process, a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism, and an oxide-assisted mechanism: wherein the density of the at least two nanowires is 2 nanowires in a micron by micron area.