Fabricating a low-cost Raman spectrometer to introduce students to spectroscopy basics and applied instrument design

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy has become a popular analytical tool because of its ability to probe nondestructively and provide fingerprint information about materials. The advancements in the field of Raman spectroscopy and the expanding scope of applications warrant the introduction of the topic in the formal education curriculum. The introduction of Raman spectroscopy analysis in the educational curriculum helps the students learn the spectroscopy basics. Furthermore, component-wise familiarization and fabrication training will help the students to evolve their own methodologies to fabricate and customize the instrument for specific applications. Though many Raman spectrometers are commercially available, the high cost makes it unaffordable for most academic institutions. Herein, we describe an easy and cost-effective method to make a fully integrated portable Raman spectrometer and explain a few simple experiments which can be conducted at the classroom level using the fabricated device.