It enables detailed molecular analysis of materials through the interaction of laser light with molecular vibrations, phonons, or other excitations in the system.
Benefits
The structure and operation of the instrument make it possible to:
- identify and characterize materials nondestructively
- obtain detailed information on molecular structure and chemical interactions
- analyze samples in different physical states (solid, liquid, gaseous) without complex preparations
- perform analysis with high spatial resolution, thanks to the possibility of microscopic mapping
- detect chemical and structural changes even in very small amounts of sample
- obtain rapid, real-time information, making in situ process monitoring possible.
Structure
The main elements that make up the instrument are:
- Laser source for illuminating the sample
- Focusing system to direct the laser onto the sample
- Sample stage to position and move the sample
- Monochromator to scatter scattered light
- Detector to record the Raman spectrum
- Data management system for analyzing and recording results.
How it works
The sample to be analyzed is irradiated with a laser, which causes the sample molecules to scatter light. Most of the light is scattered elastically (Rayleigh scattering), while a small fraction is scattered inelastically, with a change in energy corresponding to the molecular vibrations (Raman scattering). The Raman spectrum shows characteristic bands of molecular vibrations, which can be used to identify and characterize materials in the sample. The collected data are analyzed and recorded by the data management system.
