Method, structure, and apparatus for Raman spectroscopy
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsTae-Woong T. Koo, Mineo Yamakawa
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are a Raman spectroscopy structure comprising a porous material substrate, and a method of performing Raman spectroscopy of a sample disposed adjacent to the structure comprising the porous material substrate. Generally, the substrate includes one or more layers of a porous material such as porous silicon, porous polysilicon, porous ceramics, porous silica, porous alumina, porous silicon-germanium, porous germanium, porous gallium arsenide, porous gallium phosphide, porous zinc oxide, and porous silicon carbide. It has been discovered that such a substrate material, when excited with near-infrared light, does not exhibit undesired background fluorescence characteristic of other known Raman spectroscopy substrates.
Claims24
A Raman spectroscopy apparatus comprising:
- (a) a light source;
- (b) a structure comprising a substrate, the substrate comprising a mesoporous or a microporous material selected from the group consisting of porous silicon, porous polysilicon, porous ceramics, porous silica, porous alumina, porous silicon-germanium, porous germanium, porous gallium arsenide, porous gallium phosphide, porous zinc oxide, and porous silicon carbide, wherein the substrate surface that is capable of receiving light from the light source does not have a metal layer disposed upon it capable of causing surface enhanced Raman scattering in a sample to be analyzed;
- (c) one or more lenses for directing light from the light source onto the substrate or for collecting Raman scattered light from the substrate and a sample;
- and,
- (d) a spectroscopic analyzer capable of producing an electronic signal proportional to an intensity of the Raman scattered light in a fixed wavelength range or as a function of wavelength and capable of receiving Raman scattered light from the substrate and a sample.
A method of performing Raman spectroscopy, the method comprising:
- (a) positioning a sample adjacent to a structure comprising a substrate, the substrate comprising a mesoporous or a microporous material selected from the group consisting of porous silicon, porous polysilicon, porous ceramics, porous silica, porous alumina, porous silicon-germanium, porous germanium, porous gallium arsenide, porous gallium phosphide, porous zinc oxide, and porous silicon carbide, wherein the substrate does not have a metal layer disposed upon it capable of causing surface enhanced Raman scattering in a sample placed adjacent to the substrate;
- (b) directing light from a light source onto the substrate and the sample;
- and,
- (c) measuring an intensity of any Raman scattered light from the sample and the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.