Focused ion beam (FIB) processing is a useful technique for fabricating uniform micro/nanostructured patterns on gold thin film. Building on its wide advantages, the method has been applied to create surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates. The FIB-made pattern (denoted here as “the fibAu”) is assessed to have high electromagnetic effect and thus increases the enhancement factor for detecting target species. The nanoscale SERS-active pattern is very suitable to detect size-comparable pathogens such as viruses. The illustration below describes the procedures for detecting a molecular probe or target virus.

http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/45903