Hand-held, Standoff Chemical-Biological Hazard Detector

In this proposal Physical Sciences Inc. outlines the innovative adaptation our tunable filter technology to meet SOCOM's need for a man-portable standoff chemical/biological agent sensor. This technology has been successfully tested by the U.S. Armyduring chemical simulant releases conducted at the Nevada Test Site in 1999, 2000, and 2001 The system passively detects changes in the infrared signature of a scene, where vapor-phase and liquid chemical agents, as well as biological agents and toxicindustrial chemicals, have unique spectral signatures. The system couples the tunable filter, operating in the 8.0 to 11.5 um spectral region, to a closed-cycle cooled (no cryogen required) HgCdTe infrared detector with high responsivity and low noiseperformance. It will have a 50 milliradian field of view and a range of greater than 1 km. This system will detect agent vapors at their miosis or low dose hazard levels, liquid agents at 1 g/m2 coverage, and bioagents at 100 agent containing particlesper liter of air. It is expected to weigh approximately 1.5 to 2.5 kg, have the form factor if a flashlight, and consume approximately 22 W of power, allowing 4.5 hours of continuous operation using rechargeable Li-ion batteries.