Novel Probe for Thermally Controlled Raman Spectroscopy Using Online IR Sensing and Emissivity Measurements

Temperature rise during Raman spectroscopy can induce chemical alterations of the material under analysis and seriously affect its characterization. Thus, such photothermal side effects can represent a serious problem to be carefully controlled in order to safeguard the integrity of the material and its spectral features. In this work, an innovative probe for thermally controlled portable Raman spectroscopy (exc. 785 nm) equipped with infrared sensing lines was developed. It included an infrared source and two thermopile sensors, which allowed to perform real-time measurements of the local emissivity of the material surface under laser excitation. The emissivity, which is needed in order to monitor the temperature of the irradiated surface through infrared radiation measurements, represents the complementary component of the reflectance in the radiative energy balance. Thus, total reflectance, temperature measurements and Raman spectroscopy were integrated in the present probe. After independently assessing the reliability of the former in order to derive the emissivity of variety of materials, the probe was successfully applied on pigments, paint layers, and a painting on canvas. The results achieved evidence the significant exploitation potential of the novel tool.