We have developed and demonstrated a microwave technique for detecting high explosives, illegal drugs, and other chemical contraband in checked airline baggage. Our technique isolates suspicious materials using microwave tomography and identifies chemical contraband using microwave spectroscopy. Measurements in the frequency range 2 - 18 GHz indicate that microwave energy will penetrate nonmetallic suitcases and that contraband materials feature distinct dielectric spectra at these wavelengths. We have also formed microwave images of a soft-sided suitcase and its contents. After manually segmenting the microwave imagery, we successfully identified chemical simulants for both high explosives and illegal drugs.

Date Published: 1 February 1994
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 2093, Substance Identification Analytics, (1 February 1994); doi: 10.1117/12.172509

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2093:
Substance Identification Analytics
James L. Flanagan; Richard J. Mammone; Albert E. Brandenstein; Edward Roy Pike M.D.; Stelios C. A. Thomopoulos; Marie-Paule Boyer; H. K. Huang; Osman M. Ratib, Editor(s)