RAMAN-11: Fast Chemical Mapping - RAMAN MADE EASY
RAMAN-11 Ultra-high Speed Imaging capability dramatically improves sample throughput when compared to old fashioned microscopes - designs that rely on point illumination and stage scanning. When compared to this old technique the line scan illumination of Raman-11 is 300 - 600 times faster than other products. Acquisition speeds of up to 10,000 pixels(spectra)/minute are possible!
For detailed specificatons and description please visit Nanophoton Corporation web site.
Ultra-high speed imaging is accomplished using Nanophoton's innovative technologies of line illumination coupled with parallel detection as illustrated below of imaging speeds of a thin diamond film
The Images below (Figure.1) are spectral images which contain Raman spectrum acquired in each image pixel.
Fig.1(a)
Raman imaging obtained by RAMAN-11
Fig.1(b)
Raman imaging obtained by conventional Raman systems
Raman-11's Ultra-Fast Imaging Capabilities now enables the observation of dynamic processes such as those found in biological systems, including living cells and tissue culture monolayers.
In the Materials Sciences samples including polymeric materials undergoing phase transitions; graphene, nanotechnologies and battery technologies are easily imaged.
RAMAN-11 illuminates a line shaped area on the sample with a line shaped laser beam and excites Raman scattering from it. The entire image area specified on the sample is illuminated by scanning in the horizontal direction against the line shaped laser beams direction (Fig.2(a)).
Conventional micro Raman systems illuminate the sample just at one point. It takes an unacceptable amount of time to obtain whole image because of single point by point acquisition and stage scanning (Fig.2(b)) is not only slow, but may also be subject to stage movement vibration and backlash
Fig.2(a)
Line Illumination scan with RAMAN-11
Fig.2(b)
Point Illumination and Stage Scan with
conventional micro Raman systems
For example, in the case of the microscopic image acquisition of 400 x 400 pixels as illustrated above, RAMAN-11 requires only 400 points of one horizontal scan, but the conventional micro Raman systems using point illumination with stage scan needs total 160,000 points of XY scans (vertical 400 x horizontal 400 pixels). This means that RAMAN-11 can acquire the Raman image only in 5 minutes. On the other hand, the conventional Raman systems need more than 30 hours to obtain the same image.
Fig.3
Raman-11 Microscope
The Images in Fig.4 are spectral images which contain a Raman spectrum in each pixel. As shown, Raman scattering light from the line shaped area on the sample is simultaneously detected by parallel detection system as 400 individual Raman spectrum together with spatial information.
This combination of line illumination and parallel detection accomplishes our ultra-high imaging speeds. A point illumination mode is also available on RAMAN-11 if desired and this type of illumination mode may be selected, depending on the measuring condition.
Figure 4
Raman image of a paint surface containing an unknown mixture of substances. The surface state and anamorphism can be imaged,
and analyzed microscopically.
Figure 5
Raman Imaging of Unstained Cardiomyocytes in vitro. Raman peaks of lipid, protein, & nucleic acid are assigned Red, Green,
Blue respectively. It is also possible to identify cellular organelles.
Figure 6
Raman image of Fullerene (C60) showing the intensity peak at 1470cm-1. Fullerene distribution on the substrate is easily seen.
For information on these systems and for more details please contact Left Coast Instruments,
or your local sales representative.
Nanophoton Corporation products are offered throughout the Americas by Left Coast Instruments, Inc.
For detailed information please visit Nanophotons web site.
Raman Application Notes (Nanophoton)