Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Experimental Methods for Spin- and Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy Combined with Polarization-Variable Laser
Published on: June 28, 2018
Relation between s-polarized and p-polarized internal reflection spectra: application for the spectral resolution of
Robin H A Ras1, Robert A Schoonheydt, Cliff T Johnston
1Laboratory of Optics and Molecular Materials and Center for New Materials, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 2200, FIN-02015 HUT, Espoo, Finland. robin.ras@tkk.fi
Abstract:
The orientation of chemical bonds in thin films is commonly probed with polarized internal reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Here we demonstrate how the internal reflection spectra obtained using s-polarized light are related with the corresponding p-polarized spectra. The relation between s- and p-polarized internal reflection spectra is applied to resolve the absorption bands of vibrational modes with components oriented perpendicular to the substrate. This is successfully demonstrated using Langmuir-Blodgett films containing smectite clay minerals and a surfactant deposited on ZnSe and Ge internal reflection elements.
Related Concept Videos
Measuring Reaction Rates
Raman Spectroscopy: Overview
However, a small fraction of the scattered light exhibits a frequency shift due to the exchange of energy between the incident photons and the...
IR Spectroscopy: Molecular Vibration Overview
Stretching vibrations are vibrational motions that occur along the bond line, changing the bond length or distance between two bonded atoms. They are further distinguished as symmetric or asymmetric. In symmetric stretching, the...
IR Spectrum Peak Splitting: Symmetric vs Asymmetric Vibrations
NMR Spectrometers: Resolution and Error Correction
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy: Organic Radicals

