Abstract
This paper in a tabulated summary format discusses the state-of-the-art of Raman spectroscopy for commercially available instrumentation. A comparison to infrared is made in terms of (I) instrumentation, (II) sample handling, and (III) applications. Although the two techniques yield similar and often complementary information, they are quite different from the point of view of instrumentation and sampling procedures. This leads to various advantages and disadvantages or limitations for each. These are discussed as well as the future outlook.