Noncontact optical detection of explosive particles via photodissociation followed by laser-induced fluorescence
September 12, 2011
Journal Article
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Opt. Express, Vol. 19, No. 19, 12 September 2011, pp. 18671-18677.
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Summary
High-sensitivity (ng/cm2) optical detection of the explosive 2,4,6- trinitrotoluene (TNT) is demonstrated using photodissociation followed by laser-induced fluorescence (PD-LIF). Detection occurs rapidly, within 6 laser pulses (~7 ns each) at a range of 15 cm. Dropcasting is used to create calibrated samples covering a wide range of TNT concentrations; and a correspondence between fractional area covered by TNT and PD-LIF signal strength is observed. Dropcast data are compared to that of an actual fingerprint. These results demonstrate that PD-LIF could be a viable means of rapidly and remotely scanning surfaces for trace explosive residues.