A numerical re-evaluation of the Macdonald-Vaughan model for Raman depth profiling

摘要

We re-evaluate the Macdonald-Vaughan model for Raman depth profiling [J. Raman Spectrosc. 38, 584 (2007)]. The model is an geometrical description of the sample regions from which Raman signal is collected in a confocal geometry and indicates that Raman signal also originates from far outside the focus. Although correct shapes of Raman depth profiles were obtained, quantitatively the results were not satisfactory, in view of the highly deviating values of the fitted extinction coefficients of the sample material. Our re-evaluation, based on a new numerical implementation of the model, indicates that the model is not only capable of predicting the proper profiles but also yields the right extinction coefficients. As a result, the model now is highly useful for interpretation of depth profiles, also for biomedical samples such as the human skin.