Predicting the effect of changing an optical element in a given Raman micro-spectrometer

Raman spectroscopy is a popular research avenue that can require expensive equipment in order to provide the optimal results. Determining the most appropriate equipment that can deliver the required results is a time consuming process. Having a reliable method of estimating the effect that a new optical element will have on the signal to noise ratio of the spectra collected by the system would be advantageous. This paper provides methodology for using software to virtually substitute a CCD in a given Raman spectrometer and evaluating the effect that the CCD would have on the signal to noise ratio of the resulting spectra. The methodology detailed herein shows that it is possible to emulate the effect of an alternative CCD to within 6% accuracy when the signal to noise ratio of the simulated data is compared to that of an experimental dataset.