Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy: Understanding the essentials

Abstract This paper is a brief overview to coherent anti- Stokes Raman spectroscopic technique and introduces the strengths and barriers to its use all based on the interpretation of simple theoretical formulae. The use of the Gaussian ultrashort pulses is highlighted as a practical elucidatory reconstruction tool of coherent Raman spectra. The paper presents the integral formulae for coherent anti-Stokes and Stokes Raman scattering, and discusses the closed-form solutions, its complex error function, and the delay time formula for enhancement of the inferred pure coherent Raman spectra. As an example, the timeresolved coherent Stokes Raman scattering experimental observations are quantitatively elucidated.Understanding the essentials of coherent Raman spectroscopy, therefore, promotes the importance of a number of experiments including the ones utilizing a broadband excitation with a narrowband delayed probing for successful background suppression.