Raman spectroscopy in cultural heritage: Background paper

Abstract

In the last 30 years Raman spectroscopy has become an essential experimental tool for the analysis of a wide variety of artists' materials, often in a non-destructive, non-invasive manner. The Raman effect provides a quick and relatively straightforward molecular identification of a material under examination. A Raman spectrum can be considered as a fingerprint that could be used for compound identification when a database of standard spectra is available for comparison purposes.