Polarization sensitive Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) is a very promising ana- lytical technique for high sensitivity, high spatial resolution analysis of the physical and chemical properties of nanoscale materials including nanocrystals, biomolecules, carbon-based nanostructures and nanometer-size devices. Polarized TERS, in addi- tion, offers novel opportunities for high contrast spectroscopy and imaging of semiconductor crystals and crystalline nanostructures. This chapter reviews the cur- rent state-of-the-art in polarization-sensitive TERS focusing the attention on the experimental implementations of the technique, on the light scattering properties of the metallic probes, on the Raman signal enhancement mechanisms and, finally, on the applications of this technique.