Patent ID: 8223331

Claim:
A signal-amplification device for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), said signal-amplification device comprising: a non-SERS-active substrate; a plurality of multi-tiered non-SERS-active nanowire structures, a multi-tiered non-SERS-active nanowire structure of said plurality of structures comprising: a main arm of a plurality of main arms, said plurality of main arms disposed on said non-SERS-active substrate; and a plurality of arms of at least secondary order, a secondary arm of said plurality of arms disposed on said main arm; and a plurality of metallic SERS-active nanoparticles, a metallic SERS-active nanoparticle of said plurality of metallic SERS-active nanoparticles disposed on a surface of said structure; and wherein said plurality of main arms disposed on said non-SERS-active substrate comprises black silicon.