Raman (exc 785 & 1064 nm)

Raman spectroscopy is a molecular vibrational spectroscopic technique which provides complementary information to FT-IR. Differently from FT-IR, Raman is based on a anelastic scattering process probing the vibrational properties of the materials. Being a molecular spectroscopic technique, it provides information concerning the functional groups constituting the molecules ultimately aiding a molecular identification of unlimited materials under exam. In the practice, mainly inorganic (but also organic) materials can be identified with particular attention to metal-oxides pigments that are not detectable by FT-IR. The use of long wavelegth lasers (i.e 785 and 1064 nm) enables to overcome the main limitation of the technique, namely the high fluorescence emissions which may compete with the scattering phenomena and cover any useful vibrational signals. Performing Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) by using nanoparticles substrate it is possible to investigate also organic dyes and lakes thank to the quenching of the fluorescence and the enhancement of the scattering signal.