TOXIC GAS DETECTION EQUIPMENT

NEW AND IMMERGING TECHNOLOGIES HAVE MADE POSSIBLE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A "POCKET-SIZED" INFRARED SPECTROPHOTOMETER. SUCH AN INSTRUMENT WOULDHAVE APPLICATION IN THE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE REAL-TIME DETECTION OF TOXIC GASES FROM BURNT PROPELANTS SUCH AS LEAD OXIDES, HYDROGEN SULFIDE, HYDROGEN CYANIDE AND NITROUS OXIDES. OPCOA PROPOSES TO USE MICROELECTRONICS AND MICRO-OPTICS TO REDUCE THE SIZE AND POWER REQUIREMENTS CONVENTIONAL IR SPECTROPHOTOMETERS AND DEVELOP A "SECOND GENERATION" INSTRUMENT. OPCOA HAS FOUR (4) BASIC TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES IN PHASE I OF THIS PROPOSAL: (1) DESIGN AN ELECTRONICALLY TUNABLE, PIEZOELETRIC, FABRY-PEROT FILTER FOR PRODUCING A NARROW-BAND IR SPECTRUM; (2) EXPERIMENTALLY DEMONSTRATE THE EVANESCENT FIELD OF A HELICAL CONFIGURATION OF IR OPTICAL FIBER WILL ACT AS A SUITABLE IR ABSORPTION PATH; (3) SPECIFY A SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTOR/SOLID STATE COOLER COMBINATION FOR OPTIMIZED IR SPECTROPHOTOMETER PERFORMANCE AND (4) APPLY MICROPROCESSOR, DATA ANALYSIS SOFTWARE TO BOTH AUTOMATICALLY CONTROL AND ENHANCE PERFORMANCE OF THE IR SPECTROPHOTOMETER. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF PHASE I WILL FACILITATE FABRICATION OF A BRASSBOARD MODEL.