1064 nm Raman: Pervasive at Pittcon 2013

An undated page on the site of Real-Time Analyzers, Inc. (Middletown, CT) states that the company's RamanID system is "the only portable Raman analyzer that employs 1064 nm laser excitation to avoid fluorescence interference." But in fact, the 1064 wavelength is being offered in more and more Raman instruments--both portable and non-portable--as was evident at the Pittcon 2013 (March 17-21, Pittsburgh, PA) exposition.
  
On the portable side, B&W Tek (Newark, DE) demonstrated the practical value of this wavelength: Its new 1064 nm fiber optic Raman spectrometer produces a clear spectrum for grapeseed oil, whereas 785 Raman generated no signal at all.

Rigaku Raman Technologies (San Jose, CA) showed off a range of portable Raman analyzers offering 1064 (in addition to 532 and 785), including its super compact handheld system, FirstGuard, so easy to use that it lets dock workers quickly screen shipments of pharmaceuticals.

BaySpec (San Jose, CA) has streamlined its transportable Agility single/dual-band Raman spectrometer, with a 1064-excitation option, to accept a snap-in vial or pill holder. On the non-portable side, BaySpec offers its Nomadic Raman microscopes--now with 1064 excitation--without requiring switchout of laser and detector.

Speaking of Raman microscopes, Renishaw (Hoffman Estates, IL) was on hand to talk about its highly flexible inVia. It accommodates up to three multi-line lasers on a standard baseplate and more on a laser table, and it fully supports more than 20 laser wavelengths, from 229 nm all the way up to--you guessed it--1064 nm.
  
B&W Tek's Robert Chimenti explained the appeal of Raman: High selectivity with no sample prep. By comparison, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, which also offers great selectivity, does require sample prep. With the addition of 1064, that appeal increases.

Spectroscopy has growth in hand

Today’s announcement by Ahura Scientific corroborates comments that Andrew Whitley, a VP at Horiba Jobin-Yvon made earlier this week during SPIE’s Spectroscopy Technology + Applications conference. Presenting a breakdown of market share, Whitley noted that Ahura has acquired 10% share since it launched its first product just three years ago. Such growth, said Whitley, is all because of the increased need for portable and handheld spectrometers. That market segment is 25% at the moment, but growing 23% CAGR, he explained.

Today’s announcement by Ahura Scientific corroborates comments that Andrew Whitley, a VP at Horiba Jobin-Yvon made earlier this week during SPIE’s Spectroscopy Technology + Applications conference. Presenting a breakdown of market share, Whitley noted that Ahura has acquired 10% share since it launched its first product just three years ago. This growth, said Whitley, is all because of the increased need for portable and handheld spectrometers--a market segment that is 25% at the moment, but growing 23% CAGR.

Whitley also discussed the “huge potential for Raman” spectroscopy in the biomedical market—though he said the realization of that potential is probably still 15 to 20 years off.

William Yang, CEO of BaySpec, which also made an interesting announcement this week concerning portable spectroscopy, defined “portable” instrumentation as units that you can carry with two hands, and “handheld” devices as those that require only one hand for transport.

More information:
SPIE’s Spectroscopy Technology + Applications
Horiba Jobin-Yvon spectroscopy