X-ray and optical characterization of the metal-dielectric structures based on synthetic opals

Composite materials based on dielectrics with metal inclusions are of a great interest for nanoplasmonics, photonics and nonlinear optics. They are also prospective as bio-optical sensors which can amplify weak signals from single molecules. Raman scattering of single molecules placed on metal-dielectric substrate is accompanied by an increase in the scattering cross section in more than 10¹⁴ times [1,2]. It is due to the localized surface plasmon resonance in metal nanoparticles. It is well-known as the surface enhanced Raman scattering (abbreviated by SERS) observed with a participation of such metals as gold, silver and copper, as a rule.