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Main Authors: Hammond, Ian M., Chao, Pengning, Everitt, Henry O., Christiansen, Rasmus E., Edelman, Alan, Verdugo, Francesc, Johnson, Steven G.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00339
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author Hammond, Ian M.
Chao, Pengning
Everitt, Henry O.
Christiansen, Rasmus E.
Edelman, Alan
Verdugo, Francesc
Johnson, Steven G.
author_facet Hammond, Ian M.
Chao, Pengning
Everitt, Henry O.
Christiansen, Rasmus E.
Edelman, Alan
Verdugo, Francesc
Johnson, Steven G.
contents Topology optimization (TO) of 3D surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates faces challenges in managing field singularities and modeling orientation-averaged anisotropic molecules. We present 3D TO for manufacturable SERS substrates that maximize spatially averaged signals from randomly oriented, anisotropic molecules in both elastic and inelastic scattering. A new trace formulation provides a closed-form rotational average of anisotropic Raman tensors, which are not equivalent to isotropic molecules because of tensor nonlinearity. Optimized silver and Si3N4 devices show that lengthscale constraints are sufficient to suppress designs that rely on unphysical mathematical field divergences at sharp corners. Metallic designs deliver broadband enhancement and remain robust to typical Raman shifts, whereas dielectric designs yield narrower, quality-factor-limited gains that are inferior to metallic designs for quality factors below about 500. Our approach readily incorporates additional physics, such as a nonlinear damage model. Together, these results provide a practical route to improved manufacturable SERS substrates and extend naturally to other distributed-emitter design problems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_00339
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Topology-optimized distributed 3d anisotropic Raman emission
Hammond, Ian M.
Chao, Pengning
Everitt, Henry O.
Christiansen, Rasmus E.
Edelman, Alan
Verdugo, Francesc
Johnson, Steven G.
Optics
Topology optimization (TO) of 3D surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates faces challenges in managing field singularities and modeling orientation-averaged anisotropic molecules. We present 3D TO for manufacturable SERS substrates that maximize spatially averaged signals from randomly oriented, anisotropic molecules in both elastic and inelastic scattering. A new trace formulation provides a closed-form rotational average of anisotropic Raman tensors, which are not equivalent to isotropic molecules because of tensor nonlinearity. Optimized silver and Si3N4 devices show that lengthscale constraints are sufficient to suppress designs that rely on unphysical mathematical field divergences at sharp corners. Metallic designs deliver broadband enhancement and remain robust to typical Raman shifts, whereas dielectric designs yield narrower, quality-factor-limited gains that are inferior to metallic designs for quality factors below about 500. Our approach readily incorporates additional physics, such as a nonlinear damage model. Together, these results provide a practical route to improved manufacturable SERS substrates and extend naturally to other distributed-emitter design problems.
title Topology-optimized distributed 3d anisotropic Raman emission
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00339