Dissemination of IT for the Promotion of Materials Science (DoITPoMS)

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Introduction

A large variety of spectroscopic techniques are available for the analysis of materials and chemicals. Among these is Raman spectroscopy. This relies on Raman scattering of light by a material, where the light is scattered inelastically as opposed to the more prominent elastic Rayleigh scattering. This inelastic scattering causes shifts in wavelength, which can then be used to deduce information about the material. Properties of the material can be determined by analysis of the spectrum, and/or it may be compared with a library of known spectra to identify a substance.

Since the discovery of Raman scattering in the 1920s, technology has progressed such that Raman spectroscopy is now an extremely powerful technique with many applications.