This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 7310, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, and the Conference Committee listing.

The background and beginning of this project have been described in a previous SPIE paper1. Since then, the Na monolithic Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer (SHS) units were constructed, and the housing for the full SHIELDS unit designed and built. The dual-wavelength SHIELDS was designed, and its construction begun, while the LC reflectors used in the selection between wavelengths for the dual-wavelength monolith were tested for efficacy in an instrument-like configuration. Optical modeling and procurement of optical components was completed, making the Na unit nearly ready for lab tests with a low-pressure sodium source, and then appropriate Na-wavelength fluorophores. Atmospheric modeling showed the importance of both dealing with the Ring effect -- as it is at least equal to the fluorescence effect to be measured -- and selecting the best wavelength to observe to mitigate the effects of vegetative fluorescence and water vapor absorption. The full SHIELDS unit will be assembled and tested in March 2009, and the dual-wavelength monolith completed in May.

The Raytheon Trimodal Imager (TMI) uses coded aperture and Compton imaging technologies as well as the nonimaging shadow technology to locate an SNM or radiological threat in the presence of background. The coded aperture imaging is useful for locating and identifying radiological threats as these threats generally emit lower energy gammas whereas the Compton imaging is useful for SNM threats as in addition to low energy gammas which can be shielded, SNM threats emit higher energy gammas as well. The shadow imaging technology utilizes the structure of the instrument and its vehicle as shadow masks for the individual detectors which shadow changes as the vehicle moves through the environment. Before a radioactive source comes into the fields of view of the imagers it will appear as a shadow cast on the individual detectors themselves. This gives the operator advanced notice that the instrument is approaching something that is radiological and on which side of the vehicle it is located. The two nuclear images will be fused into a combined nuclear image along with isotope ID. This combined image will be further fused with a real-time image of the locale where the vehicle is passing. A satellite image of the locale will also be made available. This instrument is being developed for the Standoff Radiation Detection System (SORDS) program being conducted by Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

We present a new and innovative short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging focal plane array (FPA) concept for bulk and trace standoff explosives detection. The proposed technology combines conventional uncooled InGaAs based SWIR imaging with the wavelength selectivity of a monolithically integrated solid-state Fabry-Perot interferometer. Each pixel of the array consists of a group of sub-pixels in which each sub-pixel is tuned to absorb a separate wavelength. The relative responses from the sub-pixels (i.e. wavelengths) are compared to the spectral characteristics of explosives in the SWIR to detect and locate them within an imaged scene among various background materials. The novel technology will be compact, and consume low power such that it can be used as a handheld device or mounted for persistent surveillance of crowded areas and checkpoints. The technology does not use any scanning nor tuning apparatuses such as MEMS devices, and is therefore fast, compact, lightweight and not susceptible to vibration. The technology is therefore ideal for man portable applications and unmanned vehicle platforms. An eyesafe (covert) illuminator may be used to provide illumination in situations when ambient light conditions are not sufficient. We will present a detailed design of the novel focal plane array and a theoretical standoff distance and false rates study.

The work is dedicated to investigation of the luminescent properties of UV-emitting single crystalline films (SCF) based on the Lu₃Al₅O₁₂:La and Lu₃Al₅O₁₂:Pr garnet and LuAlO₃:Ce perovskite compounds grown by liquid phase epitaxy method from the PbO-B₂O₃ flux onto Y₃Al₅O₁₂ and YAlO₃ substrates, respectively, for testing as scintillation screens in high-resolution microimaging detectors used in applications with synchrotrons radiation. The first image with a spatial resolution of about 1.5 μm of X-ray excited resolution target was obtained using only the UV part of the light of the LuAG:La SCF scintillators. The possible ways for improvement of figure-of-merit of UV emitting SCF scintillators and increase of spatial resolution of the detector are discussed.

About 20 μm thick Ce-doped Lu₃Al₅O₁₂ thin films grown by Liquid Phase Epitaxy and thin plates of similar thickness prepared by mechanical cutting and polishing from Czochralski grown crystals are used in 2D-imaging experiment down to μm 2D-resolution. Their scintillation response is also measured under α-particle excitation and performance of film and bulk material is mutually compared. Furthermore, scintillation and thermoluminescence characteristics of UV emitting Sc-doped LuAG grown by Czochralski method are presented since this system is a candidate material for UV emission-based 2D sensors with improved diffraction limit with respect to the presently used Ce-doped aluminum garnets.

We present a simple and efficient muon tomography simulation based on Data Modeling and a fast method for real-time threat target identification in obscured environments. Our approach introduces a fast form of statistical characterization in conjunction with equation based Data Models that makes the use of median calculation and Point of Closest Approach (POCA) reconstruction unnecessary. Our method enables accurate medium to high Z multi-target identification without background subtraction and in less than 10 seconds total processing time. Our method is general and applies to other volumetric/voxel processing as well.

We present a novel approach to quantifying and optimizing the amount of information available in radiation patterns. The technique presented and the results obtained are applicable on a broad scale, including those in infrared, nanophotonics and other non-intrusive sensing techniques. We investigate the amount of information lost due to limitations of the detector system. The method, which is based on information principles developed by Shannon, expands on the many conventional approaches to optimizing performance of sensors. The fundamental question of how many bits of information can be extracted by any sensor is addressed. We focus on answering this question for the measurement of the radiation pattern from an antenna array. The effects of a finite detector size, on the structure of the radiation pattern, are presented, and we quantify the relationship between loss of structure and loss of information. The work presented may be extended to a wide range of applications, including remote sensing. While the information content of antenna array radiation patterns is based on the spatial distribution of photons, the method presented is general and may be applied to a variety of distributions, such as lineshape functions, important in spectroscopy, where the information is contained in the frequency distribution of photons.

The Raytheon Trimodal Imager (TMI) uses coded aperture and Compton imaging technologies as well as the nonimaging shadow technology to locate an SNM or radiological threat in the presence of background. The heart of the TMI is two arrays of NaI crystals. The front array serves as both a coded aperture and the first scatterer for Compton imaging. It is made of 35 5x5x2" crystals with specially designed low profile PMTs. The back array is made of 30 2.5x3x24" position-sensitive crystals which are read out at both ends. These crystals are specially treated to provide the required position resolution at the best possible energy resolution. Both arrays of detectors are supported by aluminum superstructures. These have been efficiently designed to allow a wide field of view and to provide adequate support to the crystals to permit use of the TMI as a vehicle-mounted, field-deployable system. Each PMT has a locally mounted high-voltage supply that is remotely controlled. Each detector is connected to a dedicated FPGA which performs automated gain alignment and energy calibration, event timing and diagnostic health checking. Data are streamed, eventby- event, from each of the 65 detector FPGAs to one master FPGA. The master FPGA acts both as a synchronization clock, and as an event sorting unit. Event sorting involves stamping events as singles or as coincidences, based on the approximately instantaneous detector hit pattern. Coincidence determination by the master FPGA provides a pre-sorting for the events that will ultimately be used in the Compton imaging and coded aperture imaging algorithms. All data acquisition electronics have been custom designed for the TMI.

Illicit drugs are imported into countries in myriad ways, including via the postal system and courier services. An automated system is required to detect drugs in parcels for which X-ray diffraction is a suitable technique as it is non-destructive, material specific and uses X-rays of sufficiently high energy to penetrate parcels containing a range of attenuating materials. A database has been constructed containing the measured powder diffraction profiles of several thousand materials likely to be found in parcels. These include drugs, cutting agents, packaging and other innocuous materials. A software model has been developed using these data to predict the diffraction profiles which would be obtained by X-ray diffraction systems with a range of suggested detector (high purity germanium, CZT and scintillation), source and collimation options. The aim of the model was to identify the most promising system geometries, which was done with the aid of multivariate analysis (MVA). The most promising systems were constructed and tested. The diffraction profiles of a range of materials have been measured and used to both validate the model and to identify the presence of drugs in sample packages.