TRACE DETECTION OF EXPLOSIVES WITH HANDHELD RAMAN USING SPUTTERED SERS SUBSTRATES

摘要

Detection of trace levels of explosives using portable devices is of crucial interest for national security. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a unique tool that offers high sensitivity, high specificity, fast response time, and low limits of detection for various explosives such as TNT, RDX, and PETN. Newly developed SERS substrates increase the Raman signal of explosives by orders of magnitude compared to today's state-of-the-art SERS substrates. These substrates lower the detection limit for common explosives with a pocket-size, battery-powered Raman instrument to tens of picograms using safe laser power levels (20 mW at 638 nm) with a 10-second measurement time. Additional experiments are underway to test the specificity and sensitivity of these SERS substrates for chemical warfare agents.