Raman Spectroscopy is a non-destructive chemical analysis technique that provides detailed information about chemical structure, phase and polymorphism, crystallinity and molecular interactions. In a micro Raman system the Raman spectrometer is integrated with a microscope focusing laser light on the sample allowing the analysis of small regions (µm).
It is a light scattering technique, based on the interaction of light with the chemical bonds within a material, whereby a molecule scatters incident light from a high intensity laser light source. Most of the scattered light is at the same wavelength (or color) as the laser source and does not provide useful information (Rayleigh Scattering). However a small amount of light (typically 0.0000001%) is scattered at different wavelengths (or colors), which depend on the chemical structure of the sample (Raman Scattering).