Stand-off Detection of Chemical, Biological and Explosive Material Surface Contamination by Thermal Emission

In this Phase II SBIR proposal Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) describes the development of an instrument for 50 meter stand-off detection of chemical, biological and explosive (CBE) residues on surfaces. The system includes an illumination source to heat and desorb thermolysis products of contaminants from the surface and an innovative fast spectrometer to collect the resulting thermal emission signature. The identity of the contaminant is determined through real-time analysis of the emission spectrum against a library of spectra. The Phase II program will develop and demonstrate prototype components of the contamination monitor including: 1) a pulsed illumination system operating at an eye-safe wavelength (1.57 um) and 2) innovative and sensitive high throughput fast spectrometers operating in mid-wave (3 5 um) and long-wave (812 um) infrared bandpasses. The Phase II effort will establish an extensive database of thermal emission spectral signatures that will be used to validate a thermal emission signature model. The end result of the Phase II program will be a field-ready prototype design of the contamination monitor ready for fabrication and testing in a Phase III effort to a technology readiness level of 5-6.