In this work we demonstrate imaging standoff detection of solid traces of explosives using infrared laser backscattering spectroscopy. Our system relies on active laser illumination in the 7 μm-10 μm spectral range at fully eye-safe power levels. This spectral region comprises many characteristic absorption features of common explosives, and the atmospheric transmission is sufficiently high for stand-off detection. The key component of our system is an external cavity quantum cascade laser with a tuning range of 300 cm^-1 that enables us to scan the illumination wavelength over several of the characteristic spectral features of a large number of different explosives using a single source. We employ advanced hyperspectral image analysis to obtain fully automated detection and identification of the target substances even on substrates that interfere with the fingerprint spectrum of the explosive to be detected due to their own wavelength-dependent scattering contributions to the measured backscattering spectrum. Only the pure target spectra of the explosives have to be provided to the detection routine that nevertheless accomplishes reliable background suppression without any a-priory-information about the substrate.

Date Published: 29 May 2013
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 8710, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Sensing XIV, 87100I (29 May 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2015682

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8710:
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Sensing XIV
Augustus Way Fountain III, Editor(s)