Institut für Mineralogie und Kristallographie
Fakultät für Geowissenschaften, Geographie und Astronomie
Universität Wien
Althanstraße 14 (UZA 2), A-1090 Wien
Sekretariat: Mo-Mi: 9-12 & 13-16; Do: 13-17; Fr: 9-13;
Tel.: (+431) 4277 53201, FAX: (+431) 4277 9532, Email.: mineralogie@univie.ac.at

Databases containing Raman spectra of minerals (and mineral pigments)

Disclaimer: The list below contains links to external websites. We do not claim the list is complete, neither we believe our comments and statements concerning the quality of the content of these websites are objective. Our comments refer to the quality of the background, the influence of luminescence emissions on the spectra, and/or artefacts (e.g., spikes). Comments were made to provide a rough guide for the usefulness and reliability of websites and their data content. Any corrections, suggestions, and further feedback are welcome.

1.1. Minerals

RRUFF project - Integrated database of Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction and chemistry data for minerals
Credit: research collaboration (research groups of R.T. Downs (Arizona), M. Bonner Denton (Arizona), and G.R. Rossman (Caltech, California)
Comments: several thousand mineral spectra; partially oriented samples and/or different directions of the laser polarization; generally good quality in the early years, unfortunately the reliability goes down appreciably in the last year (for instance, search for Pt minerals or galena, to see poor-quality spectra);
nevertheless a very useful and extensive database

Base de données de spectres Raman
Credit: Société Francaise de Minéralogie et de Cristallographie; C. Bény (BRGM, Orléans), J.-M. Bény (BRGM, CNRS, laboratoire mixte université d'Orléans) and B. Lasnier (Univ. Nantes)
Comments: a few hundred spectra; no possibility to download spectra as ASCII files; predominantly minerals; mostly of very good quality; intro page in French; very useful site

RASMIN (Raman Spectra Database of Minerals and Inorganic Materials)
Credit: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
Comments: ~ 600 mineral spectra, ~ 900 spectra of inorganic materials; many literature links; quality of spectra somewhere between average and disastrous

Raman Spectra Database
Credit: Geofluids Laboratory, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Siena
Comments: ~ 140 spectra of fluids, minerals, pigments, glasses, gems; mainly good quality; no possibility to download spectra

Handbook of Minerals Raman Spectra
Credit: Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre, ENS Lyon; G. Montagnac
Comments: ~ 100 mineral spectra; mostly good quality

Mineral Spectroscopy Server
Credit: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; G.R. Rossman
Comments: > 300 mineral spectra; quality ranging from very good to dissatisfying (check their biotite); now part of the RRUFF collaboration (see above)

Mineral Raman DataBase
Credit: Laboratory of Photoinduced Effects, Vibrational and X-Ray
Spectroscopies; Physics Department of the University of Parma; D. Bersani
Comments: currently ~ 200 mineral spectra; quality in most instances OK

FT Raman Catalogue
Credit: Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Michoacán, México; M.N. Ostrooumov
Comments: FT-Raman mineral spectra; users have to register (free)

1.2. Pigments (partially mineral pigments)

Raman Spectroscopic Library of Natural and Synthetic Pigments
Credit: Christopher Ingold Laboratories, University College London; I.M. Bell, R.J.H. Clark and P. J. Gibbs
Comments: ~ 65 pigments; in most cases good quality spectra; no possibility to download spectra as ASCII files

ColoRaman
Credit: LDL Luminescence Dating Laboratory, Università di Catania; S.O. Troja, A. Cosentino
Comments: complicated homepage, not easy to handle, partially in Italian; almost 100 spectra; no possibility to download spectra; a significant fraction of spectra has questionable quality