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Raman spectroscopy is a powerful and increasingly ubiquitous analytical tool capable of identifying molecular constituents of samples under test and, when combined with microscopy, exploring specific cellular structures and functions. Non-invasive, non-contact, requiring no sample preparation or chemical tagging – it is no wonder that Raman has established a presence as an invaluable analytical technique both in labs and in the field.

Raman spectroscopy probes the molecular vibrational and rotational modes of a material in order to detect and identify the material. Typically, laser light is incident upon the material and the scattered light is measured.

The excitation source (laser line) intensity is often to orders of magnitude greater than the Raman scattered signal. Therefore, edge pass (or notch) filters are required to block the Rayleigh scattered laser light while transmitting the red-wavelength shifted (Stokes) and/or the blue-wavelength shifted (Anti-Stokes) Raman scattered signal.

LiDAR, short for light detection and ranging, uses pulsed lasers to accurately calculate distances as well as correctly detect the size and shape of objects. The high resolution of the information — LiDAR can resolve to a few centimeters from more than 100 meters away — and the ability to create accurate model three-dimensional images have made the technology critical in many applications. Some uses include autonomous vehicles and automobile crash avoidance, surveying, environment, construction, agriculture, oil and gas exploration, and pollution modeling.

“What’s a ‘steering wheel’?” At the present time this would be a very strange question to hear asked from anyone who has driven, ridden in, or even seen a car but in a couple of decades this may not seem so unusual. The evolution of increasingly affordable and capable sensing and imaging systems combined with the desire to create safer, more efficient transportation systems is driving the development of autonomous vehicles (pun intended). LiDAR is a key technology that will eventually help carry this growth through to “Level 5” autonomy : no steering wheels, no brake pedals, no human intervention in driving.