Plasmonic nanogaps can intensify electromagnetic (EM) fields in their confined narrow areas, providing superior optical enhancement such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Although a narrower nanogap is more beneficial in magnifying the EM field, the highest SERS efficiency occurs in ~1 nm nanogap due to the quantum tunneling effect in sub-nm nanogap. We synthesized ~1-nm plasmonic nanogap embedded nanoparticles with nanobridges, producing a strong SERS signal. The nanogaps can be controlled by DNA sequence, DNA grafting density, and solution condition. Nanogap thickness, the number of nanobridges, and surface morphology can control the EM field within ~1-nm intra-nanogap, which determines the SERS feature of the nanoprobes.
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