Engineering aspects and applications of the new Raman instrumentation

Raman instrumentation design has improved radically in efficiency and ease of use over the past 15 years. New technologies made this possible with introduction of the first commercial high-efficiency (high speed) Raman systems incorporating low power lasers. Systems were introduced for the first time on production and process lines. Higher efficiency systems have continued to evolve, as a result of novel engineering solutions. Raman-near field optical systems and Raman-SEM (scanning electron microscopy) combinations have created a new area of nanoscale spectroscopic measurements. New application areas are: (a) semiconductor processing; (b) pharmaceutical drug processing; (c) gemology; (d) narcotic and explosives forensic detection; (e) coatings on computer hard disks and read heads; (f) endoscopic and Raman detection of oesophageal and other types of cancer. Comparisons are made with competing optical and alternative instrumentation techniques for general Raman work and the applications.