Parallel Raman microspectroscopy using programmable multipoint illumination.

We present a novel parallel Raman microspectroscopy scheme for simultaneously collecting Raman spectra from multiple points. This scheme is realized by projectinga multiple-point laser illumination pattern using a spatial light modulator (SLM) and wide-field Raman imaging collection. We demonstrate the performance of this scheme using uniform samples, trapped polymer microparticles and fixed polymer microparticles with mixed molecular composition within a 50×50 μm(2) field of view. This scheme enables the acquisition of Raman spectra from as many as 40 points simultaneously using a single illumination pattern and detector recording frame without scanning.