Presented by David Tuschel, Raman Applications Scientist, HORIBA Scientific 

This tutorial will teach introductory Raman spectroscopy and imaging. The chemical bond origins of Raman scattering along with the instrumentation used to acquire Raman spectra and images will be explained. In particular, we will discuss the selection of laser excitation wavelength, lateral and axial spatial resolution, detection limits, and laser polarization in micro-Raman sampling. We will also discuss the importance of spectral resolution and how to apply it when rendering a Raman image. Regarding applications, we will show examples of how Raman spectroscopy provides insight into the energetics of molecular interactions in the liquid and vapor phases, and that it can be used to distinguish crystalline polymorphs and differentiate single crystal, polycrystalline and amorphous materials in the solid state. The effects of chemical bonding, strain and crystallite size on Raman spectra will be addressed and we will show you how to image these characteristics. In addition, we will discuss how combined spectral imaging by laser excited photoluminescence and Raman scattering can be used to reveal the spatially varying solid-state structure of materials.