Photo-vibrational spectroscopy of solid and liquid chemicals using laser Doppler vibrometer

Photoacoustic/photothermal spectroscopy is an established technique for trace detection of chemicals and explosives. However, prior sample preparation is required and the analysis is conducted in a sealed space with a high-sensitivity microphone or a piezo sensor coupled with a lock-in amplifier, limiting the technique to applications in a laboratory environment. Due to the aforementioned requirements, traditionally this technique may not be suitable for defense and security applications where the detection of explosives or hazardous chemicals is required in an open environment at a safe standoff distance. In this study, chemicals in various forms (membrane, powder and liquid) were excited by an intensity-modulated quantum cascade laser (QCL), while a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer was applied to detect the vibration signal resulting from the photocoustic/photothermal effect. The photo-vibrational spectrum obtained by scanning the QCL's wavelength in MIR range, coincides well with the corresponding spectrum obtained using typical FTIR equipment. The experiment demonstrated that the LDV is a capable sensor for applications in photoacoustic/photothermal spectroscopy, with potential to enable the detection of chemicals in open environment at safe standoff distance.