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Standoff detection of explosives: critical comparison for ensuing options on Raman spectroscopy–LIBS sensor fusion

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Abstract

In general, any standoff sensor for the effective detection of explosives must meet two basic requirements: first, a capacity to detect the response generated from only a small amount of material located at a distance of several meters (high sensitivity) and second, the ability to provide easily distinguishable responses for different materials (high specificity). Raman spectroscopy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) are two analytical techniques which share similar instrumentation and, at the same time, generate complementary data. These factors have been taken into account recently for the design of sensors used in the detection of explosives. Similarly, research on the proper integration of both techniques has been around for a while. A priori, the different operational conditions required by the two techniques oblige the acquisition of the response for each sensor through sequential analysis, previously necessary to define the proper hierarchy of actuation. However, such an approach does not guarantee that Raman and LIBS responses obtained may relate to each other. Nonetheless, the possible advantages arising from the integration of the molecular and elemental spectroscopic information come with an obvious underlying requirement, simultaneous data acquisition. In the present paper, strong and weak points of Raman spectroscopy and LIBS for solving explosives detection problems, in terms of selectivity, sensitivity, and throughput, are critically examined, discussed, and compared for assessing the ensuing options on the fusion of the responses of both sensing technologies.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Project CTQ2007-60348 of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and by Excellence Research Project P07-FQM-03308 of the Secretaría General de Universidades, Investigación y Tecnología, Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 218037.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Málaga, 29071, Málaga, Spain

    J. Moros, J. A. Lorenzo & J. J. Laserna

Authors
  1. J. Moros
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  2. J. A. Lorenzo
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  3. J. J. Laserna
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Correspondence to J. J. Laserna.

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Published in the special issue Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy with Guest Editors Jagdish P. Singh, Jose Almirall, Mohamad Sabsabi, and Andrzej Miziolek.

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Moros, J., Lorenzo, J.A. & Laserna, J.J. Standoff detection of explosives: critical comparison for ensuing options on Raman spectroscopy–LIBS sensor fusion. Anal Bioanal Chem 400, 3353–3365 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-4999-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-011-4999-y

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