TERASENSE expands its product portfolio by adding Raman spectroscopy instruments for Science & Industry at RamanLife.com

As any other technique Terasense patent protected terahertz imaging technology has its peculiarities and limitations. Our THz detectors and sensor arrays are not frequency-selective and therefore our technology can differentiate  substances only based on their absorption/ transmission data (rather than their spectroscopic data).  In its turn that allows our THz imaging systems to distinguish only in-homogeneous materials and detect foreign bodies or internal anomalies that create contracts in THz image. This is why THz images resemble black-and-white photos. However there are a number of interesting applications that require much more distinguished differentiating capability between various materials or, even more importantly, accurate identification of specific material.  This is where our new project RamanLife (https://ramanlife.com ) comes in, where our RamanLife R&D team has established a number of  instrumentation for Raman spectroscopy.

In general, Raman effect is observed in the light scattering spectrum rather than the absorption spectrum and therefore is relatively insensitive to the absorption bands.  Raman spectroscopy is based on measurements of vibrations inside molecules and between them, which are caused by  interaction of  laser light at certain frequencies with matter. We can say that the technique identifies unique molecular signature specific for  every material. Such molecular fingerprint can be  captured by a few categories of Raman spectroscopy instruments listed below and offered by Terasense / RamanLife team.                   It takes literally a few seconds for Laser Raman spectrometer  to complete the analysis and it does not require any special preparation of samples. Moreover, it allows unmistakably determining the chemical composition of many substances in solid, liquid or gaseous media, as well as through transparent materials, such as glass, plastic, or quartz.

Other vivid advantages and strong points of RamanLife instruments include

 -  Remote sensing capability within a 20-meter radius

- Non-destructive  (NDT) analysis of unknown materials in real-time

- NDT identification of chemical substances through sealed bags, glass and plastic packages

Such impressive arsenal, speed, accuracy, and reliability of the measurements makes cutting-edge Raman technique a proven and powerful tool in various applications related to substances identification for science and industry.

Application areas for hand held Raman spectrometers  may include quite a few fields of science and industry listed below.  Of course, Medicine is the first field that comes to mind and it can be further specified as gynecology,  dentistry, oncology, you name it. For instance, the facts that may kindle your interest are that  RamanLife achievements can be used for optical biopsy of prostatic tissue to diagnose prostate cancer at early stages; or rapid non-invasive detection of viruses, SARS-CoV-2, A/H1N1 and some others.

Along with that there are a number of other production and research  areas, where RamanLife spectrometers  can be highly useful.

• Medicine: gynecology, dentistry, and urology
• Rapid verification of pharmaceutical products
• Detection of drugs and explosives
• Identification of petroleum products, rubbers, and chemical composites
• Establishing the authenticity of precious stones. Gemology and Geology
• Gas analyzers. Analysis of gas mixtures
• Water analysis. Identification of water contaminants
• Scientific research and laboratory work in the academic environment

It is imperative to point our that in some of these fields RamanLife spectrometers can suitably complement Terasense THz imaging systems. You are welcome to ask any questions and we are ready to answer them.