Non-Contact Trace Explosives Sampling and Preconcentration for Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device Detection

Ion mobility spectrometer based explosives trace detectors (ETD) have been widely used in airport check points, ports of entry, government buildings, and other high security facilities. Most of these systems require manual collection of trace particles from vehicles via direct swabbing of surface areas of interest. Sample collection efficiency and inconsistency pose significant challenges to the effectiveness of the deployed ETD systems. Combined with current COTS ETD systems, a non-contact explosive sampling and preconcentration method is proposed to enhance collection efficiency and probability of detection using non-contact airflow and direct chemical interactions. The non-contact trace sampling method is intended for screening common vehicles and can be automated for trace detection of moving vehicles. In addition, the new sampling method will allow sampling larger areas with equal or better sampling and detection throughput than current "swiping" methods.