A high-throughput Raman notch filter set

A chevron‐type Raman notch filter (RNF) set is described. lt combines a high signal throughput (up to 90% around 1600 cm−1 and ≳80% between and 700 and 2700 cm−1) with a laser line suppression of 108–109. The filter set can be used to replace the first two dispersion stages in triple‐stage Raman monochromators commonly employed in multichannel detection systems. This yields a gain in intensity of the detected Raman signal of a factor of 4. It is shown that in Raman spectrometers with a backscatter geometry, the filter set can also be used to optically couple the microscope and the spectrometer. This leads to a further increase in signal intensity of a factor of 3–4 as compared to the situation where a beam splitter is used. Additional advantages of the RNF set are the fact that signal throughput is almost polarization independent over a large spectral interval and that it offers the possibility to simultaneously record Stokes and anti‐Stokes spectra.