Some ideas on the definition of Raman spectroscopic detection limits for the analysis of art and archaeological objects

Raman spectroscopy is increasingly often used for the investigation of archaeological and art objects. Often, questions are asked concerning achievable limits of detection. However, the definition of Raman spectroscopic detection limits is not straightforward, especially in art analysis where the investigation of solid particles, often dispersed in a solid matrix, is involved. Moreover, apart from the definition of the limit of detection, as often qualitative analysis is performed, it is equally necessary to establish a definition for the limit of identification of a product. Moreover, some ideas are discussed on the description of relative Raman band intensities and on how to include this in the definition of the limit of identification. In this paper, some topics are raised, and we hope to initiate with this paper future discussions in the Raman spectrometry community on this topic. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.