Innovative Optical Illumination Schemes for Surface Chemical Threat Detection

Foster-Miller proposes to develop a portable system for rapid and effective standoff detection of chemical agents on surfaces. Ongoing laser interrogation efforts have demonstrated the ability to detect chemical agents on the ground, but these systems arenot readily adaptable to man-portable operation and suffer from a number of operational issues related to the use of a laser as the source of excitation. The proposed system builds upon innovative illumination and detection schemes to enable pervasiveapplication of optical standoff detection of chemical agents. The Phase I effort demonstrates the proof of concept through theoretical modeling and measurements of simulants and soil backgrounds in a manner consistent with the proposed method. In PhaseII, an integrated breadboard device incorporating automated data acquisition and detection algorithms will be developed. (P-030277) A standoff surface chemical contaminant detector has widespread use and immediate need both on the soldier theatre and at threatened civilian targets. The proposed system will allow the quick determination of the presence of a potential threat, allowingfirst responders to evacuate a contaminated area without requiring analysis by time-consuming laboratory methods.