Advanced Raman Techniques and Combinations
What influences the throughput of a confocal Raman microscope?
The throughput of a confocal Raman microscope has a direct impact on the amount of time needed for confocal Raman imaging and the sensitivity and capability of the system. It is influenced by various microscope components, such as the objective, coupling elements and filters, the pinhole, the spectrometer, and the CCD camera. To optimize the throughput, every part of the system must be optimized for the highest transmission and efficiency.
| high-throughput system | low-throughput system |
| high quality objective | low quality objective |
| beam guidance using a single fiber | beam guidance using mirrors (e.g. 3 mirrors) |
| lens-based spectrometer | mirror-based spectrometer |
| back-illuminated CCD camera | front-illuminated CCD camera |
High-throughput system optimized for 532 nm excitation wavelength vs. low-throughput system. Throughput limitations due to the pinhole are neglected for both cases.