On the connection between optical absorption/extinction and SERS enhancements

Abstract

Several aspects of the connection between the absorption/extinction spectra and the enhancement in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are analyzed and discussed. It is shown that in many standard situations the spatial distribution of the resonance plays a role for the difference between extinction/absorption and SERS enhancement and that the connection between both can be very indirect and, in many cases, misleading. This clarifies several misconceptions often found in the literature.