Abstract

Differential reflectometry (DR) is an effective tool to supplement existing explosives detection systems thus making the combined unit more effective than one tool alone. It is an optical technique in which the light beam (UV) emanates from an extended distance onto the substance under investigation, thus rendering it to be a standoff method. DR allows the measurement of the energies that electrons absorb from photons as they are raised into higher, allowed energy states. These electron transitions serve as a “fingerprint” for identifying substances. The device can be made portable; it is fast, safe for the public, does not require human involvement, is cost effective, and most of all, does not require ingestion of a suspicious substance into an instrument. Various embodiments are presented.

© 2007 Optical Society of America

Standoff detection of explosive substances at distances of up to 150 m

Anadi Mukherjee, Steven Von der Porten, and C. Kumar N. Patel
Appl. Opt. 49(11) 2072-2078 (2010)

Standoff photoacoustic detection of explosives using quantum cascade laser and an ultrasensitive microphone

Xing Chen, Dingkai Guo, Fow-Sen Choa, Chen-Chia Wang, Sudhir Trivedi, A. Peter Snyder, Guoyun Ru, and Jenyu Fan
Appl. Opt. 52(12) 2626-2632 (2013)

Detection of vapors of explosives and explosive-related compounds by ultraviolet cavity ringdown spectroscopy

Christopher Ramos and Paul J. Dagdigian
Appl. Opt. 46(4) 620-627 (2007)

Effect of photochemistry on molecular detection by cavity ringdown spectroscopy: case study of an explosive-related compound

Christopher Ramos and Paul J. Dagdigian
Appl. Opt. 46(26) 6526-6532 (2007)

Femtosecond laser induced breakdown spectroscopy based standoff detection of explosives and discrimination using principal component analysis

Abdul Kalam Shaik, Nageswara Rao Epuru, Hamad Syed, Chandu Byram, and Venugopal Rao Soma
Opt. Express 26(7) 8069-8083 (2018)