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Remote atmospheric breakdown for standoff detection by using an intense short laser pulse.
Antonio Ting1, Ilya Alexeev, Daniel Gordon
1Plasma Physics Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA. ting@nrl.navy.mil
Applied Optics
|September 10, 2005
Summary
Remote atmospheric breakdown using laser pulses can detect biological warfare agents from afar. This technology generates UV light for early warning detection at extended standoff distances.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric Physics
- Laser Physics
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Remote atmospheric breakdown offers a rich source of UV and visible light.
- This phenomenon can serve as an early warning system for chemical-biological warfare agents at significant distances.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the generation of remote atmospheric breakdown.
- To explore the spectroscopic detection of mock biological warfare agents using this method.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a negatively chirped femtosecond laser pulse propagating in air.
- Observing temporal compression and transverse focusing leading to rapid laser intensity increase and ionization.
- Generating third harmonics at 267 nm and UV broadband radiation.
Main Results:
- Successful generation of remote atmospheric breakdown in air.
- Observation of fluorescence emission from albumin aerosols when illuminated by the laser pulse.
- Demonstrated potential for standoff detection of biological materials.
Conclusions:
- Remote atmospheric breakdown is a viable technique for generating UV and broadband light.
- This method shows promise for the standoff detection of biological warfare agents.