Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser

Sandra Sadate; Carlton Farley III; Aschalew Kassu; Anup Sharma

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11

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Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser

Sandra Sadate, Carlton Farley III, Aschalew Kassu, Anup Sharma

Published in American Journal of Remote Sensing (Volume 3, Issue 1)

Received: 27 February 2015 Accepted: 17 March 2015 Published: 24 March 2015

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Abstract

We have demonstrated that standoff Raman spectra of some nitrates could be obtained at distances ranging from 20 meters to 250 meters using an 11-inch reflecting telescope and a continuous wavelength 785 nm laser of 400 mW power coupled with a small portable spectrometer. The measurements were taken during both day and night, indoors and outdoors, for various integration times. Detection and identification of chemical and biological hazards within the forensic and homeland security contexts requires conducting the analysis in field while adapting a non-contact approach to the hazard. In this paper, we report the adequacy of a standoff Raman system with a 785nm laser for remote detection and identification of ammonium, sodium, and magnesium nitrates in bulk form. The results demonstrate that, as the standoff distances increases, there is a discernible attenuation in the intensity of the Raman signatures of the nitrates. To discriminate the background lights, improve the signal-to-noise ratio and trigger the weak characteristic bands, Raman spectra were also acquired using higher integration time. For the measurements taken at a 100 meter standoff distances, we were able to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio of about 10. For greater distances, due to the difficulty of locating the target using IR laser, a 50 mW green laser pointer at 485 nm wavelength is used before the IR laser is used for acquiring the Raman signals.

Published in	American Journal of Remote Sensing (Volume 3, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11
Page(s)	1-5
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Remote Sensing, Standoff Raman, Measurements of Nitrates, Raman of Explosives

References

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APA Style

Sandra Sadate, Carlton Farley III, Aschalew Kassu, Anup Sharma. (2015). Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser. American Journal of Remote Sensing, 3(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11

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ACS Style

Sandra Sadate; Carlton Farley III; Aschalew Kassu; Anup Sharma. Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser. Am. J. Remote Sens. 2015, 3(1), 1-5. doi: 10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11

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AMA Style

Sandra Sadate, Carlton Farley III, Aschalew Kassu, Anup Sharma. Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser. Am J Remote Sens. 2015;3(1):1-5. doi: 10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11,
  author = {Sandra Sadate and Carlton Farley III and Aschalew Kassu and Anup Sharma},
  title = {Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser},
  journal = {American Journal of Remote Sensing},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-5},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajrs.20150301.11},
  abstract = {We have demonstrated that standoff Raman spectra of some nitrates could be obtained at distances ranging from 20 meters to 250 meters using an 11-inch reflecting telescope and a continuous wavelength 785 nm laser of 400 mW power coupled with a small portable spectrometer. The measurements were taken during both day and night, indoors and outdoors, for various integration times. Detection and identification of chemical and biological hazards within the forensic and homeland security contexts requires conducting the analysis in field while adapting a non-contact approach to the hazard. In this paper, we report the adequacy of a standoff Raman system with a 785nm laser for remote detection and identification of ammonium, sodium, and magnesium nitrates in bulk form. The results demonstrate that, as the standoff distances increases, there is a discernible attenuation in the intensity of the Raman signatures of the nitrates. To discriminate the background lights, improve the signal-to-noise ratio and trigger the weak characteristic bands, Raman spectra were also acquired using higher integration time. For the measurements taken at a 100 meter standoff distances, we were able to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio of about 10. For greater distances, due to the difficulty of locating the target using IR laser, a 50 mW green laser pointer at 485 nm wavelength is used before the IR laser is used for acquiring the Raman signals.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser
AU  - Sandra Sadate
AU  - Carlton Farley III
AU  - Aschalew Kassu
AU  - Anup Sharma
Y1  - 2015/03/24
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11
T2  - American Journal of Remote Sensing
JF  - American Journal of Remote Sensing
JO  - American Journal of Remote Sensing
SP  - 1
EP  - 5
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-580X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11
AB  - We have demonstrated that standoff Raman spectra of some nitrates could be obtained at distances ranging from 20 meters to 250 meters using an 11-inch reflecting telescope and a continuous wavelength 785 nm laser of 400 mW power coupled with a small portable spectrometer. The measurements were taken during both day and night, indoors and outdoors, for various integration times. Detection and identification of chemical and biological hazards within the forensic and homeland security contexts requires conducting the analysis in field while adapting a non-contact approach to the hazard. In this paper, we report the adequacy of a standoff Raman system with a 785nm laser for remote detection and identification of ammonium, sodium, and magnesium nitrates in bulk form. The results demonstrate that, as the standoff distances increases, there is a discernible attenuation in the intensity of the Raman signatures of the nitrates. To discriminate the background lights, improve the signal-to-noise ratio and trigger the weak characteristic bands, Raman spectra were also acquired using higher integration time. For the measurements taken at a 100 meter standoff distances, we were able to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio of about 10. For greater distances, due to the difficulty of locating the target using IR laser, a 50 mW green laser pointer at 485 nm wavelength is used before the IR laser is used for acquiring the Raman signals.
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Sandra Sadate

Department of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Alabama A&M University, U.S.A.
Carlton Farley III

Department of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Alabama A&M University, U.S.A.
Aschalew Kassu

Department of Engineering, Construction Management and Industrial Technology, Alabama A&M University, U.S.A.
Anup Sharma

Department of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Alabama A&M University, U.S.A.

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APA Style

Sandra Sadate, Carlton Farley III, Aschalew Kassu, Anup Sharma. (2015). Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser. American Journal of Remote Sensing, 3(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11

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ACS Style

Sandra Sadate; Carlton Farley III; Aschalew Kassu; Anup Sharma. Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser. Am. J. Remote Sens. 2015, 3(1), 1-5. doi: 10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11

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AMA Style

Sandra Sadate, Carlton Farley III, Aschalew Kassu, Anup Sharma. Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser. Am J Remote Sens. 2015;3(1):1-5. doi: 10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11,
  author = {Sandra Sadate and Carlton Farley III and Aschalew Kassu and Anup Sharma},
  title = {Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser},
  journal = {American Journal of Remote Sensing},
  volume = {3},
  number = {1},
  pages = {1-5},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajrs.20150301.11},
  abstract = {We have demonstrated that standoff Raman spectra of some nitrates could be obtained at distances ranging from 20 meters to 250 meters using an 11-inch reflecting telescope and a continuous wavelength 785 nm laser of 400 mW power coupled with a small portable spectrometer. The measurements were taken during both day and night, indoors and outdoors, for various integration times. Detection and identification of chemical and biological hazards within the forensic and homeland security contexts requires conducting the analysis in field while adapting a non-contact approach to the hazard. In this paper, we report the adequacy of a standoff Raman system with a 785nm laser for remote detection and identification of ammonium, sodium, and magnesium nitrates in bulk form. The results demonstrate that, as the standoff distances increases, there is a discernible attenuation in the intensity of the Raman signatures of the nitrates. To discriminate the background lights, improve the signal-to-noise ratio and trigger the weak characteristic bands, Raman spectra were also acquired using higher integration time. For the measurements taken at a 100 meter standoff distances, we were able to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio of about 10. For greater distances, due to the difficulty of locating the target using IR laser, a 50 mW green laser pointer at 485 nm wavelength is used before the IR laser is used for acquiring the Raman signals.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Standoff Raman Spectroscopy of Explosive Nitrates Using 785 nm Laser
AU  - Sandra Sadate
AU  - Carlton Farley III
AU  - Aschalew Kassu
AU  - Anup Sharma
Y1  - 2015/03/24
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11
T2  - American Journal of Remote Sensing
JF  - American Journal of Remote Sensing
JO  - American Journal of Remote Sensing
SP  - 1
EP  - 5
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-580X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajrs.20150301.11
AB  - We have demonstrated that standoff Raman spectra of some nitrates could be obtained at distances ranging from 20 meters to 250 meters using an 11-inch reflecting telescope and a continuous wavelength 785 nm laser of 400 mW power coupled with a small portable spectrometer. The measurements were taken during both day and night, indoors and outdoors, for various integration times. Detection and identification of chemical and biological hazards within the forensic and homeland security contexts requires conducting the analysis in field while adapting a non-contact approach to the hazard. In this paper, we report the adequacy of a standoff Raman system with a 785nm laser for remote detection and identification of ammonium, sodium, and magnesium nitrates in bulk form. The results demonstrate that, as the standoff distances increases, there is a discernible attenuation in the intensity of the Raman signatures of the nitrates. To discriminate the background lights, improve the signal-to-noise ratio and trigger the weak characteristic bands, Raman spectra were also acquired using higher integration time. For the measurements taken at a 100 meter standoff distances, we were able to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio of about 10. For greater distances, due to the difficulty of locating the target using IR laser, a 50 mW green laser pointer at 485 nm wavelength is used before the IR laser is used for acquiring the Raman signals.
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download