Raman spectroscopy, elements principles

Results obtained using a variety of experimental methods have conclusively demonstrated that the degree of crystallinity is a quantitative concept. These methods include measurements of density and enthalpy of fusion, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering, and proton and carbon-13 NMR. The basic principle involved is the assigning of a specific value of the quantity of interest to each element of the phase structure. In general, there is qualitative... 

Several recent overviews of principles and applications of Raman, FTIR, and HREELS spectroscopies are available in the literature [35-37, 124]. The use of all major surface and interface vibrational spectroscopies in adhesion studies has recently been reviewed [38]. Infrared spectroscopy is undoubtedly the most widely applied spectroscopic technique of all methods described in this chapter because so many different forms of the technique have been developed, each with its own specific applicability. Common to all vibrational techniques is the capability to detect functional groups, in contrast to the techniques discussed in Sec. III.A, which detect primarily elements. The techniques discussed here all are based in principle on the same mechanism, namely, when infrared radiation (or low-energy electrons as in HREELS) interacts with a sample, groups of atoms, not single elements, absorb energy at characteristic vibrations (frequencies). These absorptions are mainly used for qualitative identification of functional groups in the sample, but quantitative determinations are possible in many cases. 

In all these time-resolved experiments the principles of pump-probe laser spectroscopy are the key element in the experimental design. A laser pulse is optically split into two components of unequal amplitude. The intense fraction, acting as a pump piilse, is directed towards the target or sample cell to trigger the molecular event under study. The much attenuated probe pulse monitors the absorption, raman scattering, polarization, coherence, or phase shift, which is linked explicitly to the dynamical observable under investigation. Extremely precise time... 

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