Sensitive Detection and Identification of Isovanillin Aerosol Particles at the pg/cm3 Mass Concentration Level Using Raman Spectroscopy

A compact Raman spectroscopy system with high sensitivity to chemical aerosols has been developed. This system has been used to detect isovanillin aerosols with mass concentration of 12 pg/cm(3) in a 15s signal integration period with a signal-to-noise ratio of 32. We believe this represents the lowest chemical aerosol concentration and signal integration period product ever reported for a Raman spectroscopy system. The Raman system includes (i) a 10W, 532-nm cw laser, (ii) an aerosol flow cell, (iii) a 60x aerosol concentrator, (iv) an f/1.8 Raman spectrometer with a spectral range of 400-1400cm(-1) and a resolution of 4cm(-1), and (v) a low-noise CCD camera (1340 x 400 pixels). The collection efficiency of the Raman system has been determined to be 2.8%. Except for the laser cooling subsystem, the Raman system fits in a 0.61m x 0.61m x 0.61m box.Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research