High-sensitivity photoacoustic detection of chemical warfare agents

Michael B. Pushkarsky; Michael E. Webber; Tyson MacDonald; C. Kumar N. Patel

doi:10.1117/12.579102

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29 December 2004 High-sensitivity photoacoustic detection of chemical warfare agents

Michael B. Pushkarsky, Michael E. Webber, Tyson MacDonald, C. Kumar N. Patel

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Proceedings Volume 5617, Optically Based Biological and Chemical Sensing for Defence; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.579102
Event: European Symposium on Optics and Photonics for Defence and Security, 2004, London, United Kingdom

Abstract

We report sensitive and selective detection of Diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP) - a decomposition product of Sarin and a common surrogate for the nerve gases - in presence of several gases expected to be interferences in an urban setting. By employing photoacosutic spectroscopy with broadly tunable CO₂ laser as a radiation source we demonstrate detection sensitivity for DIMP in the presence of these interferences of better than 0.5 ppb in 60 second long measurement time, which satisfies most current homeland and military security requirements and validates the photoacoustic spectroscopy as a powerful technology for nerve gas sensing instrumentation.

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Michael B. Pushkarsky, Michael E. Webber, Tyson MacDonald, and C. Kumar N. Patel "High-sensitivity photoacoustic detection of chemical warfare agents", Proc. SPIE 5617, Optically Based Biological and Chemical Sensing for Defence, (29 December 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.579102

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