Raman spectroscopy is the technology of choice to identify bulk solid and liquid phase unknown samples without the
need to contact the substance. Materials can be identified through transparent and semi-translucent containers such as
plastic and glass. ConOps in emergency response and military field applications require the redesign of conventional
laboratory units for: field portability; shock, thermal and chemical attack resistance; easy and intuitive use in restrictive
gear; reduced size, weight, and power. This article introduces a new handheld instrument (ACE-IDTM) designed to take
Raman technology to the next level in terms of size, safety, speed, and analytical performance. ACE-ID is ruggedized
for use in severe climates and terrains. It is lightweight and can be operated with just one hand. An intuitive software
interface guides users through the entire identification process, making it easy-to-use by personnel of different skill
levels including military explosive ordinance disposal technicians, civilian bomb squads and hazmat teams. Through the
use of embedded advanced algorithms, the instrument is capable of providing fluorescence correction and analysis of
binary mixtures. Instrument calibration is performed automatically upon startup without requiring user intervention.
ACE-ID incorporates an optical rastering system that diffuses the laser energy over the sample. This important
innovation significantly reduces the heat induced in dark samples and the probability of ignition of susceptible explosive
materials. In this article, the explosives identification performance of the instrument will be provided in addition to a
quantitative evaluation of the safety improvements derived from the reduced ignition probabilities.
FT-IR spectroscopy is the technology of choice to identify solid and liquid phase unknown samples. The challenging ConOps in emergency response and military field applications require a significant redesign of the stationary FT-IR bench-top instruments typically used in laboratories. Specifically, field portable units require high levels of resistance against mechanical shock and chemical attack, ease of use in restrictive gear, extreme reliability, quick and easy interpretation of results, and reduced size. In the last 20 years, FT-IR instruments have been re-engineered to fit in small suitcases for field portable use and recently further miniaturized for handheld operation. This article introduces the HazMatID™ Elite, a FT-IR instrument designed to balance the portability advantages of a handheld device with the performance challenges associated with miniaturization. In this paper, special focus will be given to the HazMatID Elite’s sampling interfaces optimized to collect and interrogate different types of samples: accumulated material using the on-board ATR press, dispersed powders using the ClearSampler™ tool, and the touch-to-sample sensor for direct liquid sampling. The application of the novel sample swipe accessory (ClearSampler) to collect material from surfaces will be discussed in some detail. The accessory was tested and evaluated for the detection of explosive residues before and after detonation. Experimental results derived from these investigations will be described in an effort to outline the advantages of this technology over existing sampling methods.
Josep Arnó, Len Cardillo, Kevin Judge, Maxim Frayer, Michael Frunzi, Paul Hetherington, Dustin Levy, Kyle Oberndorfer, Walter Perec, Terry Sauer, John Stein, Eric Zuidema
FT-IR spectroscopy is the technology of choice to identify solid and liquid phase unknown samples. The challenges of
ConOps (Concepts of Operation) in emergency response and military field applications require a significant redesign of
the stationary FT-IR bench-top instruments typically used in laboratories. Specifically, field portable units require high
levels of resistance against mechanical shock and chemical attack, ease of use in restrictive gear, quick and easy
interpretation of results, and reduced size. In the last 20 years, FT-IR instruments have been re-engineered to fit in small
suitcases for field portable use and recently further miniaturized for handheld operation. This article introduces the
advances resulting from a project designed to overcome the challenges associated with miniaturizing FT-IR instruments.
The project team developed a disturbance-corrected permanently aligned cube corner interferometer for improved
robustness and optimized opto-mechanical design to maximize optical throughput and signal-to-noise ratios. Thermal
management and heat flow were thoroughly modeled and studied to isolate sensitive components from heat sources and
provide the widest temperature operation range. Similarly, extensive research on mechanical designs and compensation
techniques to protect against shock and vibration will be discussed. A user interface was carefully created for military
and emergency response applications to provide actionable information in a visual, intuitive format. Similar to the
HazMatID family of products, state-of-the-art algorithms were used to quickly identify the chemical composition of
complex samples based on the spectral information. This article includes an overview of the design considerations, tests
results, and performance validation of the mechanical ruggedness, spectral, and thermal performance.
Eric Diken, Josep Arno, Ed Skvorc, David Manning, Greger Andersson, Kevin Judge, Ken Fredeen, Charles Sadowski, Joseph Oliphant, Stephen Lammert, Jeffrey Jones, Randall Waite, Chad Grant, Edgar Lee
The rapid and accurate detection and identification of chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals can be
critical to the protection of military and civilian personnel. The use of gas chromatography (GC) - mass spectrometry
(MS) can provide both the sensitivity and selectivity required to identify unknown chemicals in complex (i.e. real-world)
environments. While most widely used as a laboratory-based technique, recent advances in GC, MS, and sampling
technologies have led to the development of a hand-portable GC/MS system that is more practical for field-based
analyses. The unique toroidal ion trap mass spectrometer (TMS) used in this instrument has multiple benefits related to
size, weight, start-up time, ruggedness, and power consumption. Sample separation is achieved in record time (~ 3
minutes) and with high resolution using a state-of-the-art high-performance low-thermal-mass GC column. In addition
to providing a system overview highlighting its most important features, the presentation will focus on the
chromatographic and mass spectral performance of the system. Results from exhaustive performance testing of the new
instrument will be introduced to validate its unique robustness and ability to identify targeted and unknown chemicals.
FT-IR spectroscopy is the technology of choice to identify solid and liquid phase unknown samples. Advances in
instrument portability have made possible the use of FT-IR spectroscopy in emergency response and military field
applications. The samples collected in those harsh environments are rarely pure and typically contain multiple chemical
species in water, sand, or inorganic matrices. In such critical applications, it is also desired that in addition to broad
chemical identification, the user is warned immediately if the sample contains a threat or target class material (i.e.
biological, narcotic, explosive). The next generation HazMatID 360 combines the ruggedized design and functionality
of the current HazMatID with advanced mixture analysis algorithms. The advanced FT-IR instrument allows effective
chemical assessment of samples that may contain one or more interfering materials like water or dirt. The algorithm was
the result of years of cumulative experience based on thousands of real-life spectra sent to our ReachBack spectral
analysis service by customers in the field. The HazMatID 360 combines mixture analysis with threat detection and
chemical hazard classification capabilities to provide, in record time, crucial information to the user. This paper will
provide an overview of the software and algorithm enhancements, in addition to examples of improved performance in
mixture identification.
Emerging chemical threats to homeland security challenge the specificity of sensor-based chemical detectors. As the
number of chemicals to detect increases, the false alarm rates of these sensor-based systems tend to increase and the
usefulness of the detector in real world situations declines. The infrared (IR) absorption spectrum of a material is a
physical constant and highly specific for the molecule of interest. For many years, IR spectra have been used by chemists
to identify unknowns based on comparison with spectra of known materials and to determine the presence of chemical
functional groups through spectral interpretation. IR spectroscopy is well suited for the identification of broad-based
chemical threats. This discussion shall concern the conceptual development of a hand held IR spectroscopy system for
the identification of chemical vapor threats. The discussion shall focus on design tradeoffs where miniaturization is of
paramount importance. Quantitative IR absorption spectra of threat compounds were used to model absorption line
strengths at moderate spectral resolutions. IDLH detection limits targets, acquisition time, etendué, and signal-to-noise
parameters guided the concept design and pathlength of a long path gas cell used in conjunction with a hand held FT-IR
spectrometer.
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