Confocal Raman microscopy, which combines an extremely sensitive confocal microscope with an ultra-high throughput Raman spectroscopy system, is widely used for the characterization and distribution of minerals and materials. As shown in the image, the distributions of different silicate minerals, i.e. muscovite mica (red) and quartz (blue) can be easily detected by identifying the intensities of the Raman peaks at ~460 cm-1 and at ~1600 cm-1.
- No specialise sample preparation
- Non-destructive
- Resolution down to the optical diffraction limit (~200 nm)
- Distribution analysis of different phases in ambient conditions
- Identification of Li-rich minerals such as Spodumene
