The Micro-Raman Spectroscopy Laboratory (Sections 3.1 and 3.2) uses a Horiba Jobin Yvon LabRAM HR Evolution Raman spectrometer equipped with a motor-driven x-y table and an Olympus optical microscope. Depending on the experiment two different laser light sources can be used for investigations on gas hydrates: a Nd:YAG laser providing a 532 nm line and 785 nm wavelength-stabilized laser diode. The confocal technique provides an efficient way to obtain interference-free Raman spectra of …

The microscopy lab comprises facilities for infrared microthermometric equipment for fluid inclusion research and reflected-light microscopy for organic petrography.
The microthermometry lab focusses on microthermometric studies of fluid inclusions in minerals, analyses of molecular compositions of gas-bearing fluid inclusions and reconstruction of P-T-x condition during mineral precipitation. Techniques being used are microthermometry, transmitted light microscopy (visible and near infrared …

Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique based on the inelastic scattering of light (Raman scattering) that allows microscopic examination of minerals and other materials. Excited by monochromatic light (laser), the specimen emits scattered light showing different frequencies than the laser light in the spectrum (Raman bands). The differences in the frequencies (Raman-shift) contain vibrational information of molecules in the specimen, and by that of its composition and structure. The …

The Raman laboratory is equipped with a "Horiba ISA Dilor LabRAM" micro-confocal Raman spectrometer with a focal length of 300 mm and a spectral resolution of up to 3.5 cm⁻¹. Depending on the analyzed material and the applied method, the user can choose between the internal 632 nm He-Ne and an external 532 nm Nd-YAG laser. Maps and line scans can be done with the automated x-y table. The applications include phase identification of fluids, minerals and partly glasses (fingerprinting), …

The Raman Spectroscopy Lab is equipped with a Horiba LabRAM-HR laser Raman spectrometer that is used to identify and structurally characterize mineral phases, glasses, and organic substances. It is suitable for almost all areas of object-oriented research. Raman spectroscopy provides non-destructive information on the molecular or crystalline structure of samples down to the micrometer range. The Raman spectrometer is equipped with three lasers of different wavelength (an air-cooled …

The laboratory is equipped with two confocal high-resolution Raman spectrometer systems to study fluid and solid samples (from single point analyses and line scans to two- and three-dimensional Raman imaging) at ambient pressure and temperature and over a wide range of P-T conditions.
Available sample environments are three Linkam heating/cooling stages and two hydrothermal diamond-anvil cells.

The core of the laboratory is a Raman micro-spectrometer. The spectrometer is equipped with a cryostat serving as a planetary simulation chamber which permits simulation of environmental conditions on planetary surfaces, namely pressure (10⁻⁶ hPa – 1000 hPa), atmospheric constituents, and temperature (4 K – 500 K). The laboratory is also equipped with preparation facilities for analog materials. The samples which are analyzed in the laboratory range from minerals, Martian analog material, …