Chapter 10 - Laser-based detection methods of explosives

Abstract

Lasers offer multiple approaches for explosive detection that are not possible with other techniques. In general, these can be separated into two types: those based on the unique properties of lasers for long-distance propagation of intense energy and those that are based on the actual molecular and atomic spectroscopy, and as such utilize the high wavelength specificity that most lasers offer. Of course, the field of laser explosive detection is somewhat new, given the fact that lasers were invented fairly recently in 1958. As such, it is fair to say that laser explosive detection is still a work in progress, with much having been discovered in recent years and still more to be discovered in the near future, particularly as more exotic laser sources, for example, fem to second lasers, become more common, less expensive, more rugged, and generally more readily available. The expected dramatic improvements in probability of detection and reduction of false alarm rates suggest that laser-based explosive detection methods may evolve into a major new technology area in the next 1–3 years.