Tactical thermal luminescence sensor for ground path contamination detection

US6464392B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army · US

Inventors

• Arthur H. Carrieri · Edgewood, US
• Irving F. Barditch · Baltimore, US
• David Owens · Boynton Beach, US
• Erik S. Roese · Baltimore, US
• Pascal Lim · Baltimore, US
• Michael V. Talbard · Rosedale, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 11, 2000
• Grant date: Oct 15, 2002
• Expiry date: Apr 11, 2020

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N33/227
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Chemical agent warfare materials and their simulant liquids are identified on terrestrial surfaces at a distance by recognizing the contaminant's infrared fingerprint spectrum brought out in thermal luminescence (TL). Suspect surfaces are irradiated with microwave light that is absorbed into the surface and, subsequently, TL is released by the surface. An optics receiver collects the released TL radiant light, and a data acquisition system searches this TL radiant flux for the contaminant's fingerprint infrared spectrum. A decision on the presence or absence of any-of-N contaminants is done by a neural network system that acts as a filter through real-time pattern recognition of the contaminant's unique infrared absorption or emission spectra.