Inverse spatially-offset Raman spectroscopy using optical fibers: An axicon lens-free approach.

Inverse spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (I-SORS) seeks to interrogate deep inside a Raman-active, layered, diffusely scattering sample. It makes a collimated laser beam incident onto the sample surface in the form of concentric illumination rings (of varying radii) from whose center the back-scattered Raman signal is collected for detection. Since formation of illumination rings of different sizes requires an axicon to be moved along the axis of the collimated laser beam and axicons below a certain minimum size (~1 inch) are not readily available, this classical configuration incorporating an axicon cannot be used for designing a compact I-SORS probe of narrower diameter. We report a novel scheme of implementing I-SORS which overcomes this limitation by implementing ring illumination and point collection using two multi-mode optical fibers. An important advantage of the proposed scheme is that unlike the previously reported inverse SORS configurations, it does not require physical movement of any of the optical components for generating spatial offsets needed for probing sub-surface depths. Another advantage is its fiber-optic configuration which is ideally suited for designing a compact and pencil-sized I-SORS probe, often desired in many practical situations for carrying out depth-sensitive Raman measurements in situ from a layered turbid sample.

Inverse SORS for detecting a low Raman-active turbid sample placed inside a highly Raman-active diffusely scattering matrix - A feasibility study.

The broad range of applications of spatially-offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) were found to involve samples having only marginal differences in Raman cross-sections between the surface and subsurface targets. We report the results of a feasibility study to evaluate the potential of the approach to identify the presence of a very low Raman-active turbid sample placed inside a highly Raman-active diffusely scattering matrix. Paraffin sandwiched tissue blocks prepared by embedding slices of chicken muscle tissue into solid paraffin blocks were employed as representative samples for the study. It was found that in contrast to the several millimetres of probing depth reported in the earlier applications, the Raman signatures of tissue were best recovered when it was located beneath the surface of the paraffin block at a depth of around a millimetre, beyond which the quality of recovery was increasingly poorer. However, the probing depth could be further increased by increasing the thickness of the embedded tissue sections. The results clearly suggest that though the probing depth achievable under the current condition is less than that found in previous applications, nevertheless it is sufficient for various other applications that would not require probing as deep as was required earlier.