The impact of array detectors on Raman spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy has been reborn owing to improvements in lasers, optics, and detectors. Whereas Raman scattering was once considered an obscure technique, it is now thought, by many, to be just as useful as infrared analysis. Array detectors have resulted in greatly reduced measurement times not only because full spectra are collected without scanning, but also because they possess extreme sensitivity and have low noise. The incredible sensitivity of modern array detectors has allowed Raman spectroscopy to be used to detect compounds at part per million concentrations and to perform Raman analyses at advantageous wavelengths that were once nearly impossible to detect. Some of the newer applications, such as simultaneous collection of multiple spectra and Raman imaging, would be nearly impossible without two-dimensional array detectors. Array detectors are not solely responsible for the resurgence of Raman spectroscopy, but there can be no doubt of the tremendous impact array detectors have on Raman spectroscopy.