Fiber-Coupled Raman Keeps Industry Under Control

Michael J. Pelletier and Will K. Kowalchyk, Kaiser Optical Systems

Raman spectroscopy is fast emerging as a powerful online analytical tool. The worldwide market for process analysis instrumentation is between $2 billion and $3 billion a year. Photonic technologies have a small share in this market; however, its rapid growth can be attributed to a new generation of compact, high-performance spectrometers.
One feature of these instruments is fiber-coupling to the sampling probe or sampling site. The benefits of fiber coupling are leading to widespread use of Raman for real-time monitoring and industrial process control. As the sensitivity and overall performance of Raman instruments continue to improve, we expect to see Ramanis share of this market accelerate.