Ultra High-Speed Spectroradiometry for Contamination Reconnaissance and Surveillance

Spectral Sciences, Inc. proposes an innovative ultrafast spectroradiometer for transient thermal event detection at surfaces in order to provide contamination avoidance and mitigation. The proposed system combines an adaptive, software programmable spectral filter with advanced signal processing algorithms to identify contaminates based on transient thermal excitation of a sample. The adaptive spectroradiometer is combined with high-speed readout electronics to provide data acquisition rates superior to those of competing approaches. A laser source will be used to provide heating of the sample that is synchronized with data collection and analysis. The spectrometer’s spectral range, resolution, and other operating characteristics can be set in software, on-the-fly, providing the flexibility to adapt to a variety of measurement scenarios. The spectrometer can be programmed to perform specific detection algorithms directly in hardware, thereby reducing processing time and increasing selectivity for detecting weak spectral signatures against complex spectral backgrounds. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and develop a conceptual design for a Phase II prototype ultra-high speed spectroradiometer.