Raman spectroscopy of colloidal nanoparticles in liquid core photonic crystal fibers

This Masters thesis examines Raman enhancements in Liquid Core Waveguides for the purpose of studying dilute solutions of Colloidal Nanoparticles. The first part of this work is geared at developing a theoretical framework to understand the basis of Raman enhancements in Teflon Capillary Tubes and Photonic Crystal fibers. Consequently, characterization of these two platforms is carried out through a variety of simulations and experiments. It is shown that enhancements as large as five orders of magnitude and sensitivities down to 10--5 molesLt may be attained through Photonic Crystal Fibers. In addition, it is demonstrated that Photonic Crystal Fibers serve as a better platform that Teflon Capillary Tubes for the study of dilute aqueous systems. In the last section of this work, growth of colloidal ZnO Nanoparticles is examined in detail using Raman spectroscopy in Photonic Crystal Fibers. The results yielded unprecedented SNR allowing for the detection of polymeric and semiconductor Raman modes alike.