Depolarisation ratio and sample handling procedures:

The depolarisation ratio refers to the ratio of the minimum and the maximum intensity measured by the analyser when the scattered light is passed through it. Mathematically,   the degree of depolarisation, ρ, is defined as 

ρ =  I_⊥/I _II

where

I _⊥   and  I _II  are the minimum and the maximum  intensity measured by the analyser.

The sample handling procedures are much simpler than that in IR spectrometry. For instance a solid sample is easily grinded to a fine powder and packed into a little cavity in case of Raman spectroscopy whereas in IR these have to be mulled with a mull or pelleted with KBr. Similarly the liquid samples can be taken in an ordinary glass capillary while in case of IR we need to use highly specialised windows. More so, in Raman spectrometry we can use aqueous solutions and also we can analyse a sample at a distant location using a fibre- optic probe.