Mid-Infrared Laser Development for Environmental Monitoring Systems

This Phase I SBIR project will demonstrate the feasibility of a novel method for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as ubiquitous hazardous solvents in military or industrial environments and their neighboring communities. The long-termobjective of the project is to develop and commercialize a real-time, on-line and autonomous mid-infrared laser spectrometer specifically designed for the routine measurement of VOCs such as benzene, toluene, and methyl-ethyl-ketone. The Phase I projectwork plan is to: 1- demonstrate diode laser absorption measurements of volatile organic molecules of interest; and 2- develop an algorithm to determine concentrations of the detected compounds, 3-determine the most efficient match between the absorptionbands of molecules of interest and detection bands of the spectrometer, 4- design a prototype instrument that will be suitable for autonomous monitoring of ambient air.The increasing pressure on industry to monitor or remedy their environmental pollutionwill create a commercial market for this technology. Other areas of application include detection of chemical and biological weapons, industrial process control, and medical diagnostics.