Raman spectroscopy, a non-destructive solution to the study of glass and its alteration

This paper presents the potential of Raman spectroscopy, a non-destructive technique which can be applied in-situ, for the analyses of glass and their alteration. Recent analytical developments are summarised for different glass composition and practical examples are given. The paper describes how to extract compositional information from the glass, first based on the spectra profile to distinguish rapidly alkali silicate from alkaline-earth alkali silicate and lead alkali silicate glass, then using the spectral decomposition and correlations to extract quantitative data. For alkali silicate glasses, that are most prone to alteration, the spectral characteristics are described to interpret the alteration process (selective leaching or dissolution of the glass) from the Raman spectra of the altered glass. These developments have greatly widened the potential of the technique and supplement well its ability to measure the thickness of the altered layer and identify the crystalline deposits

Papyrus imaging with terahertz time domain spectroscopy

International audienceTerahertz time domain spectroscopic imaging (THz-TDSI) is a non-ionizing, non-contact and non-destructive measurement technique that has been recently utilized to study cultural heritage artifacts. We will present this technique and the results of non-contact measurements of papyrus texts, including images of hidden papyri. Inks for modern papyrus specimens were prepared using the historical binder, Arabic gum, and two common pigments used to write ancient texts, carbon black and red ochre. The samples were scanned in reflection at normal incidence with a pulse with a spectral range between 0.1 and 1.5 THz. Temporal analysis of the signals provides the depths of the layers, and their frequency spectra give information about the inks. © Springer-Verlag 2010