Watching orientational ordering at the nanoscale with coherent anti-stokes Raman microscopy.

Whether in lipid membranes, liquid crystals or solid-state catalysts, the orientational ordering of molecules greatly influences the overall system behaviour. However, watching molecular alignment is a huge technical challenge. This article introduces nonlinear Raman (coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering; CARS) microscopy as a promising tool for fast, label-free 3D chemical and structural sample characterization at the nanoscale in real time.