Near-Infrared Raman Spectroscopy with a Scanning Spectrometer

Abstract

This article shows that, by means of a conventional Raman spectrometer which has been carefully designed for near-IR Raman excitation, results can be obtained that are similar to those achieved with Fourier transform Raman instrumentation. We demonstrate the performance of such an apparatus on a variety of samples including examples of gaseous samples. As far as we know, up to now, no Raman spectra of gases have been published for excitation at 1064 nm. From a comparison of gas spectra excited at 1064 nm and 514 nm, we estimate the sensitivity of our apparatus to be at least three orders of magnitude lower than that for excitation in the green spectral region. Nevertheless, the main features in Raman spectra of gases can be recorded. High-performance solid-state spectra are compared with spectra recorded by means of FT techniques. They show superior sensitivity in the low-frequency range.