Overview
This methods paper presents laser-induced surface structuring of aluminium nitride (AlN) ceramic to generate aluminium nanostructures, evaluated as SERS (Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy) substrates for the detection of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3). The paper demonstrates LOD for ammonium nitrate in water below the EU nitrate ML (50 mg/L NO3) using Al plasmonics at 514 nm and 785 nm excitation. It is a materials science / analytical chemistry paper focused on sensor fabrication. No food matrices or heavy metal concentrations in food are reported. The text-mining flags for Al and As arise from the use of AlN (aluminium nitride) ceramic and standard SERS substrate terminology; neither heavy metal occurs as a food contaminant analyte in this work.
Key numbers
- Excitation wavelengths tested: 514 nm and 785 nm
- LOD for ammonium nitrate: below 50 mg/L NO3 (EU drinking water limit), per abstract claim; exact molar LOD not stated for Al substrates in this paper
- Enhancement factor (EF): not numerically reported for Al structures specifically; compared qualitatively against Au/Ag literature benchmarks
- AlN ceramic thickness: 0.6 mm; surface roughness ~0.5 µm
- Laser: Nd:YAG at 1064 nm, 10 Hz rep rate, 15 ns pulse duration
- Nanoparticle sizes in ablated zones: 10-100 nm
Methods (brief)
Laser ablation of AlN ceramic in air (atmospheric pressure) and vacuum (10^-4 Torr) at fluences of 12, 18, and 20 J/cm2, with 100 and 300 applied pulses. Surface characterization by SEM/EDX and XPS. SERS efficiency evaluated by Raman spectra of aqueous ammonium nitrate solutions dried onto ablated zones. FDTD simulation for near-field enhancement; Generalized Mie scattering for extinction spectra. No food, biological, or environmental samples analyzed.
Implications
Certification: Not applicable. This paper does not contribute concentration data for any food matrix or HMT&C analyte.
Courses: Peripheral relevance as background reading on Al nanostructure analytical methods. SERS is referenced in the testing methods literature for heavy metal detection, but this paper specifically addresses nitrate detection, not metals.
App: Not applicable.
Wiki pages updated on ingest
- sers-methods (background reference for Al-plasmonics SERS platform development)
Update history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| a8052bb | 2026-08-09 | major | 6 sections added; narrative text revised |