In this study, we have generated a femtosecond (fs), non-diffracting Bessel beam (800 nm, 1 kHz, 50 fs) of zeroth order through an axicon (IR range, 100, AR coated). We have performed laser ablation of a bimetallic alloy (50% gold, 50 % silver) in the air engaging the generated fs Bessel beam. The high-intensity Bessel beam-matter interaction resulted in the fabrication of exotic bimetallic nanostructures. Extensive field emission scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy characterizations were undertaken to study the nanoscale topographical formations. The fs Bessel beam-induced ablation on the alloy target, involving the beam profile imprint on a single surface spot, followed by overlapping two ablation zones, has been meticulously explored. The central lobe ablated area, along with concentric rings-ablated exotic patterns, were thoroughly investigated in the topographical characterization. In the case of the complete raster scan ablation, ladder-like periodic surface structures (with sub ~20 nm growths on the ladder steps) were observed. Energy-dispersive X-ray mapping was performed to confirm the elemental distribution in the nanostructured areas. Subsequently, these plasmonic nanostructures were utilized as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platforms to detect traces of real-time explosives, ammonium nitrate (AN), and Tetryl (TL). The SERS spectra of AN depicted a signature Raman peak at 1043 cm-1, whereas TL exhibited a signature peak near 1353 cm-1. The lowest possible detected traces were 10 μM and 5 μM, for AN and TL, respectively.
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