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Updated: Oct 6, 2025

Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
Tutorials in vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy. II. Designing a broadband vibrational sum frequency
James D Pickering1, Mikkel Bregnhøj1, Adam S Chatterley1
1Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Abstract:
In this Tutorial series, we aim to provide an accessible introduction to vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopy, targeted toward people entering the VSFG world without a rigorous formal background in optical physics or nonlinear spectroscopy. In this article, we describe in depth how a broadband VSFG spectrometer is designed and constructed, using the instrument in SurfLab, Aarhus University, as an illustrative case. Detailed information about specific instrumentation (together with reasons why things are the way they are) is given throughout. This information is often omitted in other descriptions of such instrumentation and so will be invaluable to people new to the field.
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