WITec Paper Award 2026

The WITec Paper Award competition recognises exceptional scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals that feature results acquired using an Oxford Instruments Raman microscope.

Congratulations to this year's winning research teams from China, Austria, and France, and thank you to all the other participants from across the world for sharing your research!

The three winning studies in photovoltaics, plant microchemistry and dental analysis showcase the versatility and impact of Raman microscopy across diverse scientific applications.

Gold: Tianyu Lan, Tianyi Zhao, Yan Liu, Jingyu Cao, Wenqi Li, Jie Yang, Xinyu Zhang, Yusheng Wang, and Baoquan Sun (2025) Correlative Raman–Voltage Microscopy Revealing the Localized Structure–Stress Relationship in Silicon Solar Cells. ACS nano 19(4): 4473-4483. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c13688
Silver: Giuseppe Tiloca, Gilbert Neuner, Reinhard Jetter, and Notburga Gierlinger (2025) Raman micro-spectroscopy uncovers complex structural and chemical adaptations of alpine azalea leaf surface. Microchemical Journal 213: 113690. DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2025.113690
Bronze: Pierre-Yves Collart-Dutilleul, Sofía Piglionico, Richard Younes, Yacine Messat, Sarah Garrabé, Hamideh Salehi, Jean-Cédric Durand, Frédéric Cuisinier, and Alban Desoutter (2025) Raman confocal microscopy atlas of human tooth. Archives of Oral Biology 173: 106189.
DOI: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2025.106189

For more details, read the full press release: Oxford Instruments celebrates scientific innovation in the WITec Paper Award 2026

Conditions of participation:

The submission window for the Paper Award 2026 is closed.

In order to participate, please send your paper(s) (in PDF format) to papers.witec@oxinst.com. Please include the supplementary information (if applicable) and your full contact information.
Please note that your data will be processed according to our data protection regulations. If there is an Oxford Instruments representative in your country, your data may be forwarded to them.
Publications co-authored with an employee of the Oxford Instruments Group are not eligible.
Submitted papers must be in English.
The use of an Oxford Instruments WITec microscope should be clearly documented either in the "Materials and Methods" section of the article or by other supporting documentation.
The Paper Award 2026 accepts articles published in print or online during the calendar year 2025, and the entry deadline is January 31, 2026.
Each paper can only be submitted once.
The person who submits a paper is registered for a prize draw that will take place shortly after the submission deadline (see prize draw terms and conditions). If a person submits several papers, their name will enter the prize draw multiple times, increasing their chance of winning. The prizes are 10 poster rolls.
The first author(s) of the three winning publications will receive an Amazon™ gift card.

Previous Paper Awards

2025:

Shahrouz Amini, Tingting Zhu, Hajar Razi, Erika Griesshaber, Peter Werner and Peter Fratzl (2024) In operando 3D mapping of elastic deformation fields in crystalline solids. Matter 7(7): 2591-2608. DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2024.06.006
Umair Nisar, Florian Klein, Claudia Pfeifer, Margret Wohlfahrt-Mehrens, Markus Hölzle and Peter Axmann (2025) Elucidating the nature of secondary phases in LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄cathode materials using correlative Raman-SEM microscopy. Energy Storage Materials 74: 103905. DOI: 10.1016/j.ensm.2024.103905
Patrycja Leszczenko, Anna M. Nowakowska, Patrycja Dawiec, Karolina Czuja, Justyna Jakubowska, Marta Zabczynska, Agata Pastorczak, Kinga Ostrowska, Szymon Tott, Wojciech Mlynarski, Malgorzata Baranska and Katarzyna Majzner (2024) Advancing triage of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia subtypes diagnosis: label-free Raman spectroscopy for precise single-cell phenotyping and subtype classification. Analyst 149(22): 5443-5454. DOI: 10.1039/d4an00956h

2024:

Vernon LaLone, Aleksandra Aizenshtadt, John Goertz, ..., Steven Ray Wilson, Stefan Krauss, Molly M. Stevens (2023) Quantitative chemometric phenotyping of three-dimensional liver organoids by Raman spectral imaging. Cell Reports Methods 3(4): 100440. DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100440
Robin H.M. van der Meijden, Deniz Daviran, Luco Rutten, X. Frank Walboomers, Elena Macías-Sánchez, Nico Sommerdijk, Anat Akiva (2023) A 3D cell-free bone model shows collagen mineralization is driven and controlled by the matrix. Advanced Functional Materials 33(42): 2212339. DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202212339
Michael Neumann, Xu Wei, Luis Morales-Inostroza, Seunghyun Song, Sung-Gyu Lee, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Stephan Götzinger, Young Hee Lee (2023) Organic molecules as origin of visible-range single photon emission from hexagonal boron nitride and mica. ACS Nano 17(12): 11679-11691. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c02348

2023:

Ewa Stanek, Marta Z. Pacia, Agnieszka Kaczor, Krzysztof Czamara (2022) The distinct phenotype of primary adipocytes and adipocytes derived from stem cells of white adipose tissue as assessed by Raman and fluorescence imaging. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 79: 383. DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04391-2
Aïcha Badou, Sylvain Pont, Stéphanie Auzoux-Bordenave, Morgane Lebreton, Jean-François Bardeau (2022) New insight on spatial localization and microstructures of calcite-aragonite interfaces in adult shell of Haliotis tuberculata: Investigations of wild and farmed abalones by FTIR and Raman mapping. Journal of Structural Biology 214: 107854. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2022.107854
Stefano L. Oscurato, Francesco Reda, Marcella Salvatore, Fabio Borbone, Pasqualino Maddalena, Antonio Ambrosio (2022) Shapeshifting diffractive optical devices. Laser & Photonics Reviews 16: 2100514. DOI: 10.1002/lpor.202100514

2022:

Hyun-Chae Loh, Hee-Jeong Kim, Franz-Josef Ulm, Admir Masic (2021) Time-space-resolved chemical deconvolution of cementitious colloidal systems using Raman spectroscopy. Langmuir 37: 7019-7031. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00609
Nathalie Jung, Till Moreth, Ernst H. K. Stelzer, Francesco Pampaloni, Maike Windbergs (2021) Non-invasive analysis of pancreas organoids in synthetic hydrogels defines material-cell interactions and luminal composition. Biomaterials Science 9: 5415-5426. DOI: 10.1039/D1BM00597A
Xin Huang, Le Zhang, Wenjiu Cai, Jiayuan He, Hailong Lu (2022) Study on the characteristic spectral bands of water molecule and hydrogen bond of methane hydrate. Chemical Engineering Science 248: 117117 (available online 2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2021.117117

2021:

Håkon Høgset, Conor C. Horgan, James P. K. Armstrong, Mads S. Bergholt, Vincenzo Torraca, Qu Chen, Timothy J. Keane, Laurence Bugeon, Margaret J. Dallman, Serge Mostowy, Molly M. Stevens (2020) In vivo biomolecular imaging of zebrafish embryos using confocal Raman spectroscopy. Nature Communications 11: 6172 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19827-1
Mehmet Yesiltas, Melike Kaya, Timothy D. Glotch, Rosario Brunetto, Alessandro Maturilli, Jörn Helbert, Mehmet E. Özel (2020) Biconical reflectance, micro-Raman, and nano-FTIR spectroscopy of the Didim (H3-5) meteorite: Chemical content and molecular variations. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 55: 2404-2421 DOI: 10.1111/maps.13585
Chance Barrett, Zachary Stein, Jonathan Hernandez, Ravisankar Naraparaju, Uwe Schulz, Laurene Tetard, Seetha Raghavan (2021) Detrimental effects of sand ingression in jet engine ceramic coatings captured with Raman-based 3D rendering. Journal of the European Ceramic Society 41: 1664-1671 (available online 2020) DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2020.09.050

2020:

Ankur Baliyan and Hideto Imai (2019) Machine Learning based Analytical Framework for Automatic Hyperspectral Raman Analysis of Lithium-ion Battery Electrodes. Scientific Reports 9: 18241. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54770-2
Ewelina Wiercigroch, Elzbieta Stepula, Lukasz Mateuszuk, Yuying Zhang, Malgorzata Baranska, Stefan Chlopicki, Sebastian Schlücker and Kamilla Malek (2019) ImmunoSERS Microscopy for the Detection of Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerotic Plaques. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 133: 79-85. DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2019.02.068
Ruth Schmidt, Harald Fitzek, Manfred Nachtnebel, Claudia Mayrhofer, Hartmuth Schröttner and Armin Zankel (2019) The Combination of Electron Microscopy, Raman Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy for the Investigation of Polymeric Materials. Macromolecular Symposia 384: 1800237. DOI: 10.1002/masy.201800237

2019:

Martin Felhofer, Batirtze Prats-Mateu, Peter Bock, Notburga Gierlinger (2018) Antifungal stilbene impregnation: transport and distribution on the micron-level. Tree Physiology 38: 1526-1537. DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpy073
Matthew S. Dodd, Dominic Papineau, Zhenbing She, Marilyn L. Fogel, Sandra Nederbragt, Franco Pirajno (2018) Organic remains in late Palaeoproterozoic granular iron formations and implications for the origin of granules. Precambrian Research 310: 133-152. DOI: 10.1016/j.precamres.2018.02.016
Joonas T. Holmi, Bakhysh H. Bairamov, Sami Suihkonen, Harri Lipsanen (2018) Identifying threading dislocation types in ammonothermally grown bulk α-GaN by confocal Raman 3-D imaging of volumetric stress distribution. Journal of Crystal Growth 499: 47-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2018.07.024

2018:

Hesham K. Yosef, Sascha D. Krauß, Tatjana Lechtonen, Hendrik Jütte, Andrea Tannapfel, Heiko U. Käfferlein Thomas Brüning, Florian Roghmann, Joachim Noldus, Axel Mosig, Samir F. El-Mashtoly and Klaus Gerwert (2017) Noninvasive diagnosis of high-grade urothelial carcinoma in urine by Raman spectral imaging. Analytical Chemistry 89: 6893. DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b01403
Marvin Gernhardt, Ling Peng, Matthias Burgard, Shaohua Jiang, Beate Förster, Holger Schmalz and Seema Agarwal (2017) Tailoring the morphology of responsive bioinspired bicomponent fibers. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering 303: 1700248. DOI: 10.1002/mame.201700248
Guanglin Yu, Yan Rou Yap, Kathryn Pollock and Allison Hubel (2017) Characterizing intracellular ice formation of lymphoblasts using low-temperature Raman spectroscopy. Biophysical Journal 112: 2653. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.05.009

2017:

Maria O’Brien, Niall McEvoy, Damien Hanlon, Toby Hallam, Jonathan N. Coleman, Georg S. Düsberg (2016) Mapping of low-frequency Raman modes in CVD-grown transition metal dichalcogenides: layer number, stacking orientation and resonant effects. Scientific Reports 6: 19476. DOI: 10.1038/srep19476
Sara Fateixa, Manon Wilhelm, Helena I.S. Nogueira, Tito Trindade (2016) SERS and Raman imaging as a new tool to monitor dyeing on textile fibres. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 47: 1239. DOI: 10.1002/jrs.4947
Jonas Higl, M. Köhler, M. Lindén (2016) Confocal Raman microscopy as a non-destructive tool to study microstructure of hydrating cementitious materials. Cement and Concrete Research 88: 136. DOI: 10.1016/j.cemconres.2016.07.005

2016:

Admir Masic and James Weaver (2015) Large area sub-micron chemical imaging of magnesium in sea urchin teeth. J. Struct. Biol. 189: 269. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2014.12.005
Fernando Rubio-Marcos, Adolfo Del Campo, Pascal Marchet and Jose F. Fernández (2015) Ferrolectric domain wall motion induced by polarized light. Nature Communications 6: 6594. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7594
Yongjun Lee, Seki Park, Hyun Kim, Gang Hee Han, Young Hee Lee and Jeongyong Kim (2015) Characterization of the structural defects in CVD-grown monolayered MoS₂ using near-field photoluminescence imaging. Nanoscale 7: 11909. DOI: 10.1039/C5NR02897C

2015:

Katarzyna M. Marzec, A. Rygula, B.R. Wood, S. Chlopicki, M. Baranska (2015) High-resolution Raman imaging reveals spatial location of heme oxidation sites in single red blood cells of dried smears. J. Raman Spectrosc. 46: 76-83. DOI: 10.1002/jrs.4600
Martin J. Süess, R. A. Minamisawa, R. Geiger, K.K. Bourdelle, H. Sigg, R. Spolenak (2014) Power-dependent Raman analysis of highly strained Si nanobridges. Nano Lett. 14: 1249-54. DOI: 10.1021/nl404152r
Chunxiao Cong and Ting Yu. (2014) Enhanced ultra-low-frequency interlayer shear modes in folded graphene layers. Nat. Commun. 5: 4709. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5709

2014:

Y. Hao, M. S. Bharathi, L. Wang, Y. Liu, H. Chen, S. Nie, X. Wang, H. Chou, C. Tan, B. Fallahazad, H. Ramanarayan, C. W. Magnuson, E. Tutuc, B. I. Yakobson, K. F. McCarty, Y. W. Zhang, P. Kim, J. Hone, L. Colombo, R. S. Ruoff (2013) The role of surface oxygen in the growth of large single-crystal graphene on copper. Science 342: 720-723. DOI: 10.1126/science.1243879
F. Foucher, F. Westall (2013) Raman imaging of metastable opal in carbonaceous microfossils of the 700-800 ma old Draken Formation. Astrobiology 13: 57-67. DOI: 10.1089/ast.2012.0889
B. Kann, M. Windbergs (2013) Chemical imaging of drug delivery systems with structured surfaces-a combined analytical approach of confocal Raman microscopy and optical profilometry. The AAPS Journal 15: 505-510. DOI: 10.1208/s12248-013-9457-7

2013:

D. Costantini, L. Greusard, A. Bousseksou, R. Rungsawang, T. P. Zhang, S. Callard, J. Decobert, F. Lelarge, G.-H. Duan, Y. De Wilde, R. Colombelli (2012) In situ generation of surface plasmon polaritons using a near-infrared laser diode. Nano Letters 12: 4693–7. DOI: 10.1021/nl302040e
C. Matthaeus, C. Krafft B. Dietzek, B. R. Brehm, S. Lorkowski, J. Popp (2012) Noninvasive imaging of intracellular lipid metabolism in macrophages by Raman microscopy in combination with stable isotopic labeling. Analytical Chemistry 84: 8549–56. DOI: 10.1021/ac3012347
F. Rubio-Marcos, A. Del Campo, R. López-Juárez, J. J. Romero, J. F. Fernández (2012) High spatial resolution structure of (K,Na)NbO₃ lead-free ferroelectric domains. Journal of Materials Chemistry 22: 9714–9720. DOI: 10.1039/c2jm30483j

2012:

D. A. Schmidt, T. Ohta, T. E. Beechem (2011) Strain and charge carrier coupling in epitaxial graphene. Physical Review B 84: 235422. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.84.235422
G. Nehrke, J. Nouet (2011) Confocal Raman microscope mapping as a tool to describe different mineral and organic phases at high spatial resolution within marine biogenic carbonates: case study on Nerita undata (Gastropoda, Neritopsina). Biogeosciences 8: 3761–3769. DOI: 10.5194/bg-8-3761-2011
Y. N. Xu, D. Zhan, L. Liu, H. Suo, Z. H. Ni, T. T. Nguyen, C. Zhao, Z. X. Shen (2011) Thermal dynamics of graphene edges investigated by polarized Raman spectroscopy. ACS nano 5: 147–52. DOI: 10.1021/nn101920c
A. Weber-Bargioni, A. Schwartzberg, M. Cornaglia, A. Ismach, J. J. Urban, Y. Pang, R. Gordon, J. Bokor, M. B. Salmeron, D. F. Ogletree, P. Ashby, S. Cabrini, P. J. Schuck (2011) Hyperspectral Nanoscale Imaging on Dielectric Substrates with Coaxial Optical Antenna Scan Probes. Nano letters 11: 1201–1207. DOI: 10.1021/nl104163m

2011:

K. Meister, D. A. Schmidt, E. Bründermann, M. Havenith (2010) Confocal Raman microspectroscopy as an analytical tool to assess the mitochondrial status in human spermatozoa. The Analyst 135: 1370–4. DOI: 10.1039/b927012d
S. M. dePaula, M. F. G. Huila, K. Araki, H. E. Toma (2010) Confocal Raman and electronic microscopy studies on the topotactic conversion of calcium carbonate from Pomacea lineate shells into hydroxyapatite bioceramic materials in phosphate media. Micron 41: 983–9. DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2010.06.014
M. J. Harrington, A. Masic, N. Holten-Andersen, J. H. Waite, P. Fratzl (2010) Iron-clad fibers: a metal-based biological strategy for hard flexible coatings. Science 328: 216–20. DOI: 10.1126/science.1181044

Prize Draw terms and conditions

The Promoter of this Prize Draw is WITec GmbH, Lise-Meitner-Str. 6, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Participation in the Prize Draw is only open to those who submit at least one eligible publication to the WITec Paper Award 2026.
Entrants must be aged 18 years or over.
No purchase is necessary to enter the Prize Draw.
One entry to the Prize Draw is allowed per person per submitted eligible publication.
There will be ten (10) prizes of a poster roll.
Promoter reserves the right to offer alternative equivalent prizes. Equivalency will be determined solely by the Promoter. The prize is not transferable and cannot be substituted for a cash alternative or any other prize.
The ten winners of the Prize Draw will be selected at random from those qualified entries received on or before January 31, 2026. All entries have an equal and fair chance of winning the prize stated. Participants in the Prize Draw who submitted multiple entries have a greater chance of winning, but can only win one Prize Draw prize.
Prize winners will be notified within five working days of the draw and will be asked to provide their full name and address. If a winner fails to respond within ten working days of this notification, a redraw may take place from the remaining qualified entries to select a new winner. If any winner declines a prize or fails to respond within the required period, they forfeit any right to the prize.
You agree to be bound by the decisions of the Promoter, which are final in all matters relating to the Prize Draw. No correspondence will be entered into in respect of the Promoter’s decisions.
This Prize Draw is not open to any employees of Oxford Instruments Group, their families, agents or anyone else connected with this Prize Draw.
Any personal information supplied by entrants when submitting a publication and entering this Prize Draw will be used by WITec GmbH in accordance with the privacy statement on its website here: https://www.oxinst.com/corporate-content/privacy. Entrants should read this statement as their entry into this Prize Draw is an agreement to be bound by such statement. All entrants may contact WITec GmbH to have their details removed from its database at any time.
The entrant represents and warrants that they are not aware of any intellectual property rights that would be infringed or misused by his/her entry.
By entering this Competition, entrants agree to be bound by these terms. WITec GmbH reserves the right to amend these terms at any time.
WITec GmbH excludes all liability to the fullest extent permitted by law for any costs, claims or losses howsoever caused that arise by reason of the entrant’s entry into the Competition, or the award, or non-award, to them of a prize.
In the event that any of these terms are held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, such term(s) shall be severed from the remaining terms which shall continue in full force and effect.
These terms shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of Germany. The federal and state courts located in Ulm, Germany, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising in connection with any of these terms. You hereby waive any objection which you may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding relating to these terms in Germany and further irrevocably waive any claim that Germany is not a convenient forum for any such suit, action or proceeding.

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