The emergence of a wide variety of relatively low-cost compact spectrometers has led to an increase in the use of spectroscopic techniques by researchers in a broad array of fields beyond those that have traditionally employed these analytical methods. While the fundamental elements and functions of Raman systems are generally consistent, the specific components that compose a system may vary in number, design, and configuration, and researchers often modify off-the-shelf spectrometers for unique applications. Understanding the effect of instrument design and components on acquired information is thus crucial and provides the prospect to optimize the system to individual needs and to properly compare results obtained with different systems while also reducing the potential for unintended misinterpretation of data. This paper provides a practical treatment of the influences in a typical compact spectroscopy system that can impact the extent to which the output of the system is representative of the observed environment, a relationship that in measurement science is classically termed the system transfer function. For clarity, the transfer function is developed in terms of traditional Raman output parameters, namely intensity, wavelength, and time.
Fabricating a Low-Cost Raman Spectrometer to Introduce Students to Spectroscopy Basics and Applied Instrument Design