Overview of Raman Spectroscopy:
Fundamental to Applications
Deepak K. Pandey, Hardik L. Kagdada, Paridhi Sanchora,
and Dheeraj K. Singh
Abstract Raman spectroscopy is the versatile technique for the characterization
of materials in numerous fields of research, not only limited to the science and
technology but also expanded towards the archeological, food, forensic analysis, and
biomedical applications. The present chapter depicts the journey of the discovery
of the Raman effect for growing the interest of the reader for Raman spectroscopy.
Further, we discussed the fundamentals including the classical and quantum theory,
which was followed by the instrumentation of Raman spectroscopy and an overview
of the applications in diverse fields of research. We believe that this chapter leads
to an increase in the knowledge and recent advances in the application of Raman
spectroscopy.
Keywords Raman spectroscopy · Classical and quantum theory ·
Instrumentation · Materials characterization · Biomedical applications
1 Historical Overview
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, the scientist behind the novel discovery of
secondary scattering of radiation, later known as the “Raman effect” [1]. Raman
was inspired by the work of British Physicist Lord Rayleigh and his exploring mind
and spontaneous approach towards unraveling secrets of nature. Sir C. V. Raman
started his research journey with an understanding of the Doppler effect in molecular
systems, and later he investigated the light scattering from Sulphur suspension. The
turning point of his research carrier arrived when he was selected as a delegate at
the University of Congresses organized at Oxford University. During his journey to
Europe, passing from the Mediterranean Sea, Raman was speculated by the deep
blue sparkle of the seawater. However, Lord Rayleigh already explained the blue
color of the sky by the scattering of sunlight by the presence of gaseous molecules
in the atmosphere, and also mentioned that the blue color of the sea has nothing
D. K. Pandey · H. L. Kagdada · P. Sanchora · D. K. Singh (B)
Department of Physics, Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research And Management,
Ahmedabad 380026, Gujarat, India
e-mail: dheerajsingh@iitram.ac.in; dheerajsingh84@gmail.com
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
D. K. Singh et al. (eds.), Modern Techniques of Spectroscopy, Progress in Optical Science
and Photonics 13, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6084-6_6
145
Fundamental to Applications
Deepak K. Pandey, Hardik L. Kagdada, Paridhi Sanchora,
and Dheeraj K. Singh
Abstract Raman spectroscopy is the versatile technique for the characterization
of materials in numerous fields of research, not only limited to the science and
technology but also expanded towards the archeological, food, forensic analysis, and
biomedical applications. The present chapter depicts the journey of the discovery
of the Raman effect for growing the interest of the reader for Raman spectroscopy.
Further, we discussed the fundamentals including the classical and quantum theory,
which was followed by the instrumentation of Raman spectroscopy and an overview
of the applications in diverse fields of research. We believe that this chapter leads
to an increase in the knowledge and recent advances in the application of Raman
spectroscopy.
Keywords Raman spectroscopy · Classical and quantum theory ·
Instrumentation · Materials characterization · Biomedical applications
1 Historical Overview
Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, the scientist behind the novel discovery of
secondary scattering of radiation, later known as the “Raman effect” [1]. Raman
was inspired by the work of British Physicist Lord Rayleigh and his exploring mind
and spontaneous approach towards unraveling secrets of nature. Sir C. V. Raman
started his research journey with an understanding of the Doppler effect in molecular
systems, and later he investigated the light scattering from Sulphur suspension. The
turning point of his research carrier arrived when he was selected as a delegate at
the University of Congresses organized at Oxford University. During his journey to
Europe, passing from the Mediterranean Sea, Raman was speculated by the deep
blue sparkle of the seawater. However, Lord Rayleigh already explained the blue
color of the sky by the scattering of sunlight by the presence of gaseous molecules
in the atmosphere, and also mentioned that the blue color of the sea has nothing
D. K. Pandey · H. L. Kagdada · P. Sanchora · D. K. Singh (B)
Department of Physics, Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research And Management,
Ahmedabad 380026, Gujarat, India
e-mail: dheerajsingh@iitram.ac.in; dheerajsingh84@gmail.com
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
D. K. Singh et al. (eds.), Modern Techniques of Spectroscopy, Progress in Optical Science
and Photonics 13, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6084-6_6
145