Terahertz Time-Domain and Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy of Organic Materials

Abstract

With the ongoing proliferation of terahertz time-domain instrumentation from semiconductor physics into applied spectroscopy over the past decade, measurements at terahertz frequencies (1 THz ≡ 1012 Hz ≡ 33 cm–1) have attracted a sustained growing interest, in particular the investigation of hydrogen-bonding interactions in organic materials. More recently, the availability of Raman spectrometers that are readily able to measure in the equivalent spectral region very close to the elastic scattering background has also grown significantly. This development has led to renewed efforts in performing spectroscopy at the interface between dielectric relaxation phenomena and vibrational spectroscopy. In this review, we briefly outline the underlying technology, the physical phenomena governing the light–matter interaction at terahertz frequencies, recent examples of spectroscopic studies, and the current state of the art in assigning spectral features to vibrational modes based on computational techniques.