A SERS element 2 comprises a substrate 21 having a front face 21 a; a fine structure part 24 formed on the front face 21a and having a plurality of pillars 27; and a conductor layer 23 formed on the fine structure part 24 and constituting an optical function part 20 for generating surface-enhanced Raman scattering. The conductor layer 23 has a base part 28 formed along the front face 21a and a plurality of protrusions 29 protruding from the base part 28 at respective positions corresponding to the pillars 27. The base part 28 is formed with a plurality of grooves 28a surrounding the respective pillars 27 when seen in the projecting direction of the pillars 27, while an end part 29a of the protrusion 29 is located within the groove 28a corresponding thereto.
