A comparative study of Raman enhancement in capillaries

This work reports on the comparative studies of Raman enhancement in liquid core waveguides (LCWs). The theoretical considerations that describe Raman enhancement in LCWs is adapted to analyze and compare the performance of hollow core photonic crystal fibers (HCPCFs) to conventional Teflon capillary tubes. The optical losses in both platforms are measured and used to predict their performance for different lengths. The results show that for an optimal waveguide length, two orders of magnitude enhancement in the Raman signal can be achieved for aqueous solutions using HCPCFs. This length, however, cannot be achieved using normal capillary effects. By integrating the interface of the fluidic pump and the HCPCF into a microfluidic chip, we are able to control fluid transport and fill longer lengths of HCPCFs regardless of the viscosity of the sample. The long-term stability and reproducibility of Raman spectra attained through this platform are demonstrated for naphthalenethiol, which is a well-studied organic compound. Using the HCPCF platform, the detection limit of normal Raman scattering in the range of micro-molars has been achieved. In addition to the higher signal-to-noise ratio of the Raman signal from the HCPCF-platform, more Raman modes of naphthalenethiol are revealed using this platform. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3592961]