Confocal Raman Imaging, Correlative Raman-SEM, and Atomic Force Microscopy: Geo-Science Applications

Raman spectroscopy has long been applied in geoscience, for example for the identification and characterization of minerals, or in the observation of mineral phase transitions in high- and ultra-high pressure/ temperature experiments. By means of confocal Raman imaging (CRI), such characteristics can be evaluated from large-area scans on the centimeter scale to the detailed investigations with sub-micron resolution. In this study, WITec confocal Raman microscopes of the alpha300 and alpha500 series were used in order to carry out high-sensitivity measurements on a sample of diorite.