The development of a wide-field, high-resolution UV Raman hyperspectral imager

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy is a valuable tool for the investigation and analysis of explosive and biological analytes because it provides a unique molecular fingerprint that allows for unambiguous target identification. Raman can be advantageous when utilized with deep UV excitation, but typical deep UV Raman systems have numerous limitations that hinder their performance and make their potential integration onto a field portable platform difficult. These systems typically offer very low throughput, are physically large and heavy, and can only probe an area the size of a tightly focused laser, severely diminishing the ability of the system to investigate large areas efficiently. The majority of these limitations are directly related to a system’s spectrometer, which is typically dispersive grating based and requires a very narrow slit width and long focal length optics to achieve high spectral resolution. To address these shortcomings, ChemImage Sensor Systems (CISS), teaming with the University of South Carolina, are developing a revolutionary wide-field Raman hyperspectral imaging system capable of providing wide-area, high resolution measurements with greatly increased throughput in a small form factor, which would revolutionize the way Raman is conducted and applied. The innovation couples a spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS), a novel slit-less spectrometer that operates similar to Michelson interferometer, with a fiber array spectral translator (FAST) fiber array, a two-dimensional imaging fiber for hyperspectral imagery. This combination of technologies creates a novel wide-field, high throughput Raman hyperspectral imager capable of yielding very high spectral resolution measurements using defocused excitation, giving the system a greater area coverage and faster search rate than traditional Raman systems. This paper will focus on the need for an innovative UV Raman system, provide an overview of spatial heterodyne Raman spectroscopy, and discuss the development of the system.