Stand-off Raman spectroscopy of explosives

Bernhard Zachhuber; Georg Ramer; Alison J. Hobro; Bernhard Lendl

doi:10.1117/12.864564

12 October 2010 Stand-off Raman spectroscopy of explosives

Bernhard Zachhuber, Georg Ramer, Alison J. Hobro, Bernhard Lendl

Proceedings Volume 7838, Optics and Photonics for Counterterrorism and Crime Fighting VI and Optical Materials in Defence Systems Technology VII; 78380F (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.864564
Event: SPIE Security + Defence, 2010, Toulouse, France

Abstract

We present our work on stand-off Raman detection of explosives and related compounds. Our system employs 532 or 355 nm laser excitation wavelengths, operating at 10 Hz with a 4.4 ns pulse length and variable pulse energy (maximum 180 mJ/pulse at 532 nm and 120 mJ/pulse at 355 nm). The Raman scattered light is collected by a co-axially aligned 6" telescope and then transferred via a fiber optic cable and spectrograph to a fast gating iCCD camera capable of gating at 500 ps. We present results including the effect of different excitation wavelengths, showing that 355 nm excitation gives rise to significantly stronger stand-off Raman signals compared to that of 532 nm. We also show the effect of appropriate detector gating widths for discrimination of ambient light and the reduction of high background signals in the obtained Raman spectra. Our system can be used to identify explosives and their precursors in both bulk and trace forms such as RDX and PETN in the low mg range and TNT in the 700 μg range at a distance of 20 m, as well as detection of a 1% or greater H₂O₂ solution at a distance of 6.3 m.

Citation Download Citation

Bernhard Zachhuber, Georg Ramer, Alison J. Hobro, and Bernhard Lendl "Stand-off Raman spectroscopy of explosives", Proc. SPIE 7838, Optics and Photonics for Counterterrorism and Crime Fighting VI and Optical Materials in Defence Systems Technology VII, 78380F (12 October 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.864564

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available