Facile fabrication of configuration controllable self-assembled Al nanostructures as UV SERS substrates

. With a variation of the deposition thickness at an identical temperature, the self-assembled Al NSs sensitively evolve from stalagmite-shaped NPs to worm-like nano-mounds with increased light consumption induced by scattering, which inherently leads to a noticeable reduction in the EF due to the reduced plasmon coupling between NSs with the sparse distribution. The enhancement effect of the SERS substrates is theoretically discussed with the FDTD simulation, providing an instructive reference for promising applications in the bio-sensing technique.