Ideal clay, definition

Over the past decade, Raman spectroscopy has continued to develop as a prime candidate for the next generation of in situ planetary instruments, as it provides definitive stmctural and compositional information of minerals in their natural geological context. A time resolved Raman spectrometer have been developed that uses a streak camera and pulsed miniature microchip laser to provide picosecond time resolution (Blacksberg et al. 2010). The ability to observe the complete time evolution of Raman and fluorescence spectra in minerals makes this technique ideal for exploration of diverse planetary environments, some of which are expected to contain strong, if not overwhelming, fluorescence signatures. In particular, it was found that conventional Raman spectra from fine grained clays. 

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