title: Noncontact optical detection of explosive particles via photodissociation followed by laser-induced fluorescence.
abstract: High-sensitivity (ng/cm²) optical detection of the explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is demonstrated using photodissociation followed by laser-induced fluorescence (PD-LIF). Detection occurs rapidly, within 6 laser pulses (~7 ns each) at a range of 15 cm. Dropcasting is used to create calibrated samples covering a wide range of TNT concentrations; and a correspondence between fractional area covered by TNT and PD-LIF signal strength is observed. Dropcast data are compared to that of an actual fingerprint. These results demonstrate that PD-LIF could be a viable means of rapidly and remotely scanning surfaces for trace explosive residues.
authors.affiliation: Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lexington, MA 02420, USA. cwynn@ll.mit.edu
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wynn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palmacci
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Kunz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aernecke