a Typical confocal Raman spectroscopy setup. The pump laser is spatially filtered through a pinhole. The back-scattered Raman light is spatially filtered and spectrally filtered through a notch filter. The Raman light is analysed by a spectrometer and a charge-coupled device (CCD). Hyperspectral images are obtained by raster scanning the sample. b Typical CARS setup. Two laser sources provide the pump and Stokes light and are synchronised through a picosecond path difference mirror setup. In this setup, the incident light is focused through an optically transmissive sample substrate. Both the forward scattered light (F-CARS) and epi-scattered light (E-CARS) are spectrally filtered by band-pass filters and are subsequently detected by two avalanche photodiodes. CARS images are obtained by raster scanning the sample. c Typical SERS setup. The pump laser is coupled into a dark-field microscope in which the Raman light is edge-filtered and detected through a monochromator and EMCCD. The white-light source and dark-field mask provides the means for dark-field spectroscopy. The dark-field spectra of each plasmonically active nanoparticle are recorded through a secondary spectrometer (top right in c). An imaging CCD camera is used to automatically find and centre each nanoparticle. d Typical TERS setup. The pump laser light is spatially filtered and passed through a half-wave plate. The evanescent mask ensures that only high numerical aperture (NA) pump light is incident on the sample such that total internal reflection occurs at the substrate-sample interface. This ensures that the tip apex is only illuminated by the evanescent light to achieve nanoconcentrated light in the vicinity of the tip. The reflected Raman light is filtered by an apertured mask (to remove any residual large NA pump light) and a notch filter. The Raman light is analysed by a spectrometer and a CCD. Hyperspectral images are obtained by raster scanning the sample. F, filter; M, mirror; RL, Raman light; CCD, charge-coupled device; PH, pinhole; BE, beam expander; D-BS, dichroic beam splitter; OBJ, Large numerical aperture (NA) lens; EMCCD, electron-multiplying charge-coupled device. a adapted from [162]. b adapted from [116]. c adapted from [85]. d adapted from [86]