Multiwavelength Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Instrument for Planetary Materials Chemical Analysis (SERSICA)

Raman spectroscopy has been identified as an essential tool for planetary exploration. Current Raman instruments, such as NASA Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) and SuperCam, have been well matured and integrated into the Mars 2020 space mission. Major improvements in the capabilities of such systems are desired, particularly enabling them to perform ultrasensitive measurements to determine the planetary material's chemical analysis, allowing the detection of life in outer space. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a technique based on the plasmonic effect, which can enhance a standard Raman signal by ~10^12 times. However, this technology has not yet been adapted for planetary missions. This arises due to the current limitations in the requirement of generating sufficient and spatially uniform nanolayers of metallic nanoparticles on planetary surfaces, which is needed to induce the plasmonic effect and, hence, the SERS enhancement. The durability of the nanoparticles in colloidal solutions and the need for associated consumables are also some key challenges. This proposal proposes the development of specific process techniques, such as pulsed laser deposition, laser transfer, and the use of patterned metallic nanoholes, as the best practical solutions to implement SERS with the largest enhancement factor for planetary rover missions. It will make a comparative study of both metallic nanoparticles and metallic nanoholes. To achieve the highest SERS enhancement for a variety of planetary materials, multiwavelength probing is proposed over deep-UV (266 nm), visible (532 nm), and near-IR (785 nm) wavelengths, along with the use of corresponding metallic nanostructures of aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), and gold (Au). The SERS-based instrument will then be demonstrated by integrating the SERS concepts into our previously developed and operational existing multifunctional spectroscopic instrument (offering Raman, fluorescence, and laser induced breakdown spectroscopy LIBS/LAMIS capabilities), leading to the development of Resonant and Nonresonant Multifunctional Multiwavelength Ultrasensitive Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Instrument for Planetary Materials Chemical Analysis (SERSICA). The SERS instrument will be evaluated over a range of planetary simulants, minerals, and organics. An interdisciplinary team consisting of university faculty, post-doctoral staff, students, researchers from NASA research centers, faculty from an HBCU, a consultant with over forty years of Raman experience in a major U.S. optical instrument company, and researchers from a small company is assembled. The proposed effort leverages previous efforts, including NASA Phase 2 SBIR, NASA SBIR Phase 2E, and PICASSO programs. The team has already worked together and developed the necessary infrastructure for multifunctional spectroscopic instrumentation for NASA. This developed SERS instrument, SERSICA, will be an advanced instrument for various planetary science missions such as to Mars, Moon, Enceladus, etc., involving rocky body/ icy moon/ ocean world environments, which remain high-priority missions in the next planetary science decadal survey and SMD science plan.

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