A DIY 3D printed Raman system with a CCD spectrometer using based on 90° scattering geometry and 100mW 780 nm laser. Adjustment-free This repository documents the physical Raman system: overview, .stl and FreeCad files for 3d printing, bill of materials, and examples of the acquired spectra.
Free software which can be used for calibration, data acquisition, processing, visualization, and search in the reference databases is available here.
ComradeRamanDIY is a Raman setup built from commercially available components and custom 3D-printed mechanics.
Key design choices:
- 90° collection geometry
- external TEC cooling of the CCD spectrometer
- stack of budget filters for effective filtration of the laser line
Comparison of the DMSO spectra obtained with the system and the mprofessional probe after Raman shift software calibration. Note: the DIY system spectra are normalized by top peak. No preprocessing was used. Smoothing was set to 1/10 in both cases.
After system calibration with YM_RPL_785_500, DIY spectra peak positions match the reference database spectra (from ramanbase.org) without re-calibration.
E.g. for isopropyl alcohol:
The system is sensitive to vertical shift of the cuvette holder before assembly. We attached an .stl bottom plates which can be tested and glued to the bottom before assembly if it is off. In the final system the counts for DMSO at 30 s integration should be at least ~17-20k without significant noise at ~15 degrees if it is assembled correctly. It is recommended to cool with the TEC system implemented here to 15 degrees - it allows larger integration times up to 60 s. The focusing distance of the SZMCTV 1/2 Microscope Camera Adapter is adjustable and should be moved to the extreme position for optimal performance.
Total cost (with a new CCD spectromter): ~1800 USD
- PETG 3d printing filament for printing the .stl
- 800 nm long-pass filters 4-14 pieces (the current system uses 14 pieces but the quality of spectra don't change substantially from 4 pieces). We used 5.9x5.9 mm IR camera filters from this shop for ~ 2$. 1-2 filters from here also work, but you will need to adjust the cuvette holder.
- NF780 Narrow Band filter for laser cleaning.
- 15 degree IR LED PMMA lens for light collection (is inserted in the cuvette holder)
- Quartz cuvette 10 mm light path
- IRM785 CCD spectrometer
- SZMCTV 1/2 Microscope Camera Adapter for laser focusing. Microscope objectives also work, but you will need to adjust focusing distance in the 3d model.
- TEC1-12715 for CCD spectrometer cooling with the radiator (here - a 7х8 cm copper one was used) and a fan.
- 780 nm 100mW DPSS laser Here - LaseVer was used.
- Steel plate 6mm (optional)
Special thanks to Imai Optics for supporting the project by providing a discount on YM_RPL_785_500, which was instrumental in testing the setup during development. Also thyanks to ramanbase.org developers and contributors and ramanspy developers.
The cuvette holder provided here can also be used with Imai Optics probe YM_RPL_785_500.