Raman spectroscopy is one of the fastest growing analytical techniques in use today. Many industries are starting to see the beauty and power of Raman spectroscopy which is driving applications in 3 main areas: process monitoring, medical diagnostics and field based analysis. It is expected that the market will see not only smaller and less expensive application-specific systems but also more systems that combine Raman with other techniques, like Raman/FT-IR and Raman/Color hybrids that provide researchers simultaneous but different information from a sample.
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Raman spectroscopy gets its name from Chandrasekhar Venkata (C.V.) Raman, an Indian Physicist who, while working as a government accountant, discovered that sunlight could be scattered to produce patterns that represented different materials. The son of a Physics professor, Raman was an adept student entering college at age 13 and earning a Masters degree before the age of 20. He observed scatter postulated previously as a vibrational effect and published his findings in 1928. For this he received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 and was knighted within the British Empire.
Raman spectroscopy is the measurable difference in energy between the scattered light and the excitation source, and the amount of energy involved is characteristic of a particular bond. Raman Spectroscopy provides fundamental molecular information with no sample preparation or damage, the ability to measure samples through light transparent material enable easy in-situ experiments, the use of lasers as a light source enable sub-micron spatial resolution, and with modern instrumentation and software it is now very easy to use and affordable tool.
The non-destructive, non-invasive nature of Raman fits perfectly with the goals of the pharmaceutical industry's Process Analytical Technology (PAT) initiative. This should fuel rapid growth of the use of Raman.[1]
1. Abstract reference - Spectroscopy Electronic Magazine - Wavelength Tech Forum: Raman Technolgy - June 27, 2006 - Wavelength
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