FTIR and Raman photothermal spectroscopy for material analysis are well established, technologies, but they have their practical and theoretical limitations. Now, with the breakthrough technique using O-PTIR and Raman on a photothermal spectroscopy infrared microscope, those limitations have been shattered.
O-PTIR photothermal spectroscopy overcomes the poor resolution of traditional FTIR microscopy with the novel use of a dual purpose visible light probe which is not only capable of submicron IR spatial resolution, but also doubles as a Raman excitation laser providing submicron simultaneous IR+Raman spectroscopy on a single platform – the mIRage+R microscope. This combination generates complementary and confirmatory analysis through IR and Raman spectroscopy for a more detailed and thorough characterization and the ultimate in vibrational spectroscopic synergy. By working in reflection mode this technique eliminates complex sample preparation and generates high quality spectra without any dispersive scatter artifacts comparable to FTIR transmission/ATR spectra. additionally, O-PTIR is not affected at all by fluorescence interference, a key limitation of Raman spectroscopy, thus allowing for submicron molecular characterization that is completely fluorescence free.