Uniting microscopy and spectroscopy

n axiom of materials science is that growth occurs at interfaces. This basic truth extends to the growth at the interface between microscopy and spectroscopy. Interfacing microscopy and spectroscopy has created significant growth—in new technologies, analytical research, and applications. Scanning electron microscopes with X-ray emission spectroscopy, electron microscopes with mass spectroscopy, and light microscopes with infrared spectroscopy are examples of new technologies born from uniting microscopy and spectroscopy. The evolution and growth of infrared microspectroscopy (IMS) are the subject of this paper. When microscopy and infrared spectroscopy are joined, seeing microscopic structures, analyzing molecular chemistry, and relating composition with microstructure are an advance over blindly determining average chemical composition. To d a y, it is commonplace to find a microscope attached to an infrared spectrometer. More than 4000 IMS systems are in use. Developing analytical instruments is challenging, but instruments are worthwhile only if they produce a better means and needed results. The synergism of IMS has transformed seemingly impossible infrared analyses into routine procedures. It has advanced science and created new technologies, and thousands of scientists recognize its value.