  During the last decades, several books have been devoted to the application
of spectroscopic methods in mineralogy. Several short courses and meetings have
addressed particular aspects of spectroscopy, such as the analysis of hydrous
components in minerals and Earth materials. In these books, complete treatment
of the infrared theory and practical aspects of instrumentation and methods,
along with an exhaustive list of references, can be found. The present chapter
is intended to cover those aspects of infrared spectroscopy that have been
developed in the past decade and are not included in earlier reviews such as
Volume 18 of Reviews in Mineralogy. These new topics involve primarily: (1) the
use of synchrotron radiation (SR), which, although not a routine method, is now
rather extensively applied in infrared studies, in particular those requiring
ultimate spatial and time resolution and the analysis of extremely small
samples (a few tens of micrometers); (2) the development of imaging techniques
also for foreseen time resolved studies of geo-mineralogical processes and
environmental studies.
