Continuous Lasers for R aman Spectrometry

Abstract

There are many different factors to consider when determining the appropriate excitation laser source for continuous wave Raman experiments. The laser characteristics of interest for designing a Raman system fall into two categories. The first category includes parameters associated with the laser output, such as wavelength, linewidth, output power, polarization, and beam quality. The second category includes physical characteristics of the laser system, such as size, reliability, and power consumption. The different characteristics of gas, dye, solid‐state, and semiconductor lasers are discussed. Comparisons of individual lasers for Raman applications illustrate some of the tradeoffs associated with the various laser parameters, and also provide an indication of the signal levels that can be expected in continuous wave Raman measurements from different kinds of materials.