Exobiology Group
Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Mineral Resources
Faculty of Science, Charles University
Laboratory benchtop Raman instrument
Multichannel Renishaw In Via Reflex microspectrometer coupled with a Peltier-cooled charge-coupled device detector. Two excitation wavelengths: 785 nm diode laser (Renishaw) and Ar 514.5 nm laser (Laserphysics). Instrument is coupled with Leica microscope with objectives 25x to 100x and a 50x long focus objective. Spectral range 100 - 4000 cm-1 at spectral resolution of 2 cm-1.
Laser spot size (cca 3-5 µm) allows high precision measurements such as inclusion studies or analysing tiny mineral or other phases in the host matrix.
Handheld Raman instruments
The handheld Delta Nu Inspector Raman instrument weights 1.9 kg uses a 785 nn diode laser at maximum output power of 120 mW and a thermoelectrically cooled CCD detector. Its spectral range is 200 – 2000 cm-1 with a spectral resolution of 8 cm-1. Instrument is controlled via laptop running the software allowing quite a wide range of adjustable settings for measurements. This instrument provides good quality spectra especially for mineralogical samples.
The handeld Rigaku FirstGuard instrument weights 2.7 kg and is equipped with a 532 nm diode laser thermoelectrically cooled CCD detector. It is one of the first truly handheld Raman instruments permitting the use of 532 nm excitation. It operates in the spectral range of 200 – 3000 cm-1 with the spectral resolution of 10 – 15 cm-1. It uses a resistive touch display and allows quite a range of experimental settings. Maximum output laser power is 50 mW. Instrument is controlled via its touchscreen using a stylus pen or can be connected to a laptop with control program. This instrument is mainly used for in-resonance measurements.
The handeld EnSpectr RaPort (Enhanced Spectrometry, Inc., San José, CA, USA) is a handheld Raman spectrometer (weight 1.25 kg) using a doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm for excitation. The instrument allows to be operated by a tablet or via a bluetooth or USB 2.0 cable connection to a laptop computer. The measurement range is wide for a portable instrument, 140 – 4180 cm-1, with a maximum spectral resolution of 7 cm-1. This is the most recent addition to our portable Ramans, and has a good performace when analysing a wide range of samples, both organic and inorganic materials.