This paper is intended to show how the control of the optical response of regular arrays of gold nanoparticles allows to improve our understanding of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Regular particle arrays, designed by electron-beam lithography, exhibit remarkable optical properties and appear to be suitable substrates for the deepened study of the mechanisms at the origin of the SERS effect. Indeed, the resonance of the surface plasmons localized on the particles, which are at the origin of visible to near-infrared extinction spectra and the SERS effect, can be tuned to almost any desirable wavelength by varying the particle shape, size, and spacing, thus optimizing the Raman amplification. The optical extinction spectrum of various gratings was calculated in order to gain insight into their physical sense. The SERS study of trans-1,2-bis (4-pyridyl) ethylene (BPE) adsorbed on these arrays enabled us to determine the enhancement factors G of four bands in the BPE Raman spectrum. The G values thus deduced were found to be of the same order of magnitude as those calculated using a phenomenological relation derived from the electromagnetic theory. Furthermore, a photon scanning tunneling microscope enabled us to acquire near-field optical images of the arrays and to estimate the electric near-field enhancement resulting from plasmon excitation; the Raman enhancement factor thus obtained is of the same order of magnitude as that found from Raman experiments.

Addressing the fundamental question of miniaturization of light guiding and routing towards nanoscale optics, we study experimentally surface plasmon propagation in silver and gold thin films of finite widths in the micrometer range. Spatially confined excitation of surface plasmons is realized by a prism coupling arrangement involving an opaque aluminum screen for a distinct separation of excitation and propagation (measurement) region. The surface plasmon propagation length as a function of film widths is measured by detecting stray light due to surface plasmon scattering with a conventional optical microscope.

We demonstrate that surface plasmon fields can be imaged in real time by detecting the fluorescence of a molecular film close to the plasmon carrying metal surface. We use this method to image the field profile of surface plasmons launched at lithographically designed nanoscopic defects.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is one of the most challenging techniques for robot designers due to the limited size of access points, the high miniaturization level, and the dexterity needed for performing surgical tasks. Conversely, only a few microfabrication technologies are currently available for developing such small-sized systems, which allow safe operations in human bodies. In order to match these challenges in MIS, both design and integration of actuation systems should proceed in parallel with an identification of most effective transmission mechanisms and kinematics. In this paper, an origami parallel module that generates two rotations and one translation is integrated with a twisting module and a compliant gripper to form a novel four-degree-of-freedom grasper. The rotational motion leads to the pitch and yaw motion of the gripper, while the translational motion is converted to a roll motion of the gripper via the twisting module that is stacked on top of the parallel module. In light of plane-symmetric properties of the origami structure in the parallel module, both inverse and forward kinematics are resolved with a geometric approach, revealing a unique joint space and a kinematic mapping of the parallel module, leading to the design of two sets of on-board actuation systems. During the analysis, bending motion of a central spring and static properties of the compliant gripper are modeled using finite-element methods. The structure of the twisting module for motion transmission of the grasper is designed and fabricated using origami folding techniques. Gripping forces of the compliant gripper are evaluated in experimental tests. Further analyses of the system performance are addressed in accordance with the scaling ratio of miniaturization and the scalability of the system is demonstrated by a millimeter-sized origami parallel module produced by the smart composite microstructure fabrication process.