High Resolution Tunable Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer for Post-Detonation Debris Analysis in Nuclear Forensics

We propose the development new kind of high resolution tunable spatial heterodyne spectrometer for nuclear forensics. Preliminary results have shown that this spatial heterodyne spectrometer can be made compact without sacrificing its high resolving power for isotopic attribution of nuclear materials. Thus, the spatial heterodyne spectrometer will be able to provide the origins of nuclear materials that have been used in a nuclear detonation. Furthermore, the proposed spectrometer may also be used to analyze the post-denotation debris, whether they be in solid, liquid or gaseous form. Experimental tests will be performed to demonstrate proof-of-concept, and to benchmark the performance of the proposed spectrometer against existing techniques such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy.