A broadband and high throughput single-monochromator Raman spectrometer; application for single-wall carbon nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-sensitivity, tunable single-monochromator Raman spectrometer optimized for single-wall carbon nanotubes, combining broadband operation with efficient stray light filtering and high throughput.

Contribution

It presents a novel modification of a commercial Raman spectrometer enabling tunable operation with improved stray light filtering and broadband capabilities.

Findings

Demonstrated effective operation with a tunable dye laser source.

Achieved stray light filtering down to 150 1/cm.

Combined high sensitivity with broadband performance.

Abstract

We present a high sensitivity single-monochromator Raman spectrometer which allows operation with a tunable laser source. The instrument is based on the modification of a commercial Raman spectrometer; such instruments operate with holographic Rayleigh filters which also act as a laser mirrors and are usually considered as inherently narrow-band. In our design, the two tasks are separated and the filter can be freely rotated without much effect on the light alignment. Since rotation shifts the filter passband, this modification allows tunable operation with efficient stray light filtering down to 150 1/cm. The design is optimized for single-wall carbon nanotubes, for which the performance is demonstrated using a tunable dye-laser source. The spectrometer thus combines the high sensitivity with the broadband characteristics of usual triple monochromator systems.