Remote Infrared Nanostructured Adsorber-Based Chemical Agent Monitor

To address the Chemical And Biological Defense Program request for an inexpensive, reusable, stand-alone, remote-signaling point detector for sensing chemical warfare agents (CWAs), Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Remote Infrared Nanostructured Adsorber-Based Chemical Agent Monitor (RINACAM). In RINACAM broadband infrared radiation from a solid-state emitter is coupled into an infrared optical waveguide with a specially patterned nanostructured surface, designed to efficiently and reversibly adsorb CWAs. These adsorbed species directly affect the waveguide optical output recorded by POC's scalable superhigh-resolution miniature spectral sensor. Through smart data processing of this highresolution spectral data, RINACAM robustly identifies CWA chemical signatures. At the end of each measurement cycle, the integrated heater element heats the nanostructured adsorption infrared waveguide to exhaust the adsorbed CWAs back into the air. This clears RINACAM for a new measurement, making the device continuously reusable. RINACAM is a rugged, compact, low-power-consuming package, with all solid-state components and no moving parts. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of RINACAM by assembling and testing a laboratory breadboard representing all component technologies. In Phase II POC will develop an advanced RINACAM prototype. The proposed RINACAM will also meet USAF requirements for a remote signaling CWA point detector.