Light Filament Sensor

The formation and use of optical filaments resulting from high-power, ultrashort pulses propagating within the atmosphere is currently an active area of research for military and commercial applications. Optical filaments can be used to ionize molecules and atoms and produced related spectral emissions. Importantly, the range at which the filament formation occurs within the atmosphere can be controlled electronically by adjusting the laser beam and pulse characteristics. Filament formation, range control and spectral analyses of ionized surfaces were demonstrated in Phase-I. Phase-II has two primary objectives. The first is to characterize a wide range of metallic and organic samples, and create an appropriate reference database. The second goal is the production of a prototype system and development of analysis techniques. The expected benefit of further research and development in this area is the delivery of a capability to remotely sense and discriminate the chemical and biological character of explosives and contaminants at long ranges, scalable to 100's of meters. This capability will benefit both Government and private sector organizations.