Deep ultraviolet Raman spectroscopy: A resonance-absorption trade-off illustrated by diluted liquid benzene

The magnitude of resonance Raman intensity, in terms of the real signal level measured on-resonance compared to the signal level measured off-resonance for the same sample, is investigated using a tunable laser source. Resonance Raman enhancements, occurring as the excitation energy is tuned through ultraviolet absorption lines, are used to examine the 1332 cm−1 vibrational mode of diamond and the 992 cm−1 ring-breathing mode of benzene. Competition between the wavelength dependent optical absorption and the magnitude of the resonance enhancement is studied using measured signal levels as a function of wavelength. Two system applications are identified where the resonance Raman significantly increases the real signal levels despite the presence of strong absorption: characterization of trace species in laser remote sensing and spectroscopy of the few molecules in the tiny working volumes of near-field optical microscopy.