A custom built inverted microscope for confocal Raman and Brillouin microspectroscopy, this microscope is equipped with a colour camera for sample localisation using transmitted light. Spectra of Raman and/or Brillouin scattering are then collected from the laser focal volume in a confocal configuration. Spectral mapping of the sample can be achieved using the motorised stage which moves different points of the sample to the laser focus.
The process of setup is depicted in this short video.
Brillouin and Raman scattering are both non-elastic light scattering processes that can provide label-free image contrast in a variety of biological as well as material sciences samples. In Raman scattering, the photons exchange energy with molecular vibrational modes and the spectra contain qualitative as well as quantitative information on the chemical composition of the sample. Raman spectral fingerprints have proven a powerful tool for non-invasive microbial strain identification.
In Brillouin scattering, the photons exchange energy with density waves (acoustic phonons) in the material under study. For homogeneous media, this information can be readily interpreted in terms of elastic moduli of the material. In this way, Brillouin spectroscopy is commonly employed in material science for non-invasive mechanical testing.
This microscope is available now at NOBIC.
Credits/Team: https://www.nobic.sg/Projects.html#BrillRaman / Peter TÖRÖK, Aalim KHAN, Louwrens van DELLEN, Matthew S’NG, Radek MACHÁŇ
