Abstract-Open-path gas detection using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

D S Sitnikov, S A Romashevskiy, A A Pronkin,  I V Ilina,

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1147/1/012061/meta

We report on the development of an experimental setup for remote sensing of gas atmosphere in open air conditions using broadband terahertz pulses. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy technique is used to solve the problems of gas detection and recognition in the presence of water vapor absorption lines. Acetonitrile vapors were detected and gas concentration was successfully estimated. Organic crystal with a 2% conversion efficiency pumped with near-infrared femtosecond laser pulses was used to generate single-cycle terahertz pulses with energies up to 10 µJ. Application of a novel high-power source of broadband terahertz radiation (0.2–3 THz) opens up new perspectives for further increasing the open space distances in remote sensing problem.

Abstract-Toward Standoff Sensing of CBRN with THz Waves

• Kang Liu, 
• Xi-Cheng Zhang
• • 
    

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-024-1093-8_1

With the soaring demands for remote spectroscopy in homeland security and environmental monitoring, terahertz (THz) wave sensing has drawn a significant amount of attention because of its capability to acquire chemical spectral signatures non-invasively. THz-Radiation-Enhanced-Emission-of-Fluorescence (THz-REEF) makes broadband stand-off remote spectroscopy possible, due to its omni-directional emission pattern of the fluorescence and minimal ambient water vapor absorption of THz wave near the target. Two years ago, we have demonstrated coherent THz wave detection at a distance of 30 m. The development of intense broadband table-top THz source is imperative to all the extreme THz science research, including THz remote sensing. Recently, we have also demonstrated an enhanced THz radiation using dual-color ring-Airy beam induced air-plasma compared to a Gaussian beam induced plasma. It is believed that the great tunability of ring-Airy beam, its wavepacket stability at nonlinear focus regime, and the strong resilience to turbulent medium of the Airy beam family, make the plasma induced by this novel wave a promising broadband THz source for THz remote sensing and spectroscopy.

Abstract-Mars Micro-Satellite for Terahertz Remote Sensing

Richard Larsson, Yasko Kasai, Takeshi Kuroda, Hiroyuki Maezawa, Takeshi Manabe, Toshiyuki Nishibori, Shinichi Nakasuka, Akifumi Wachi, Hideo Sagawa, 

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017EGUGA..1918645L

We present an idea for an instrument aimed to measure Martian oxygen isotopologue ratios in several species (including O2, CO, H2O, and others) by flying a terahertz sensor to Mars on a micro-satellite mission that will orbit the planet for a short while before landing the instrument on the surface. The presentation will discuss the scientific targets, the instrumental details, and the expected outcome of the measurements. As is generally known, Martian atmospheric chemistry is governed by the photolytic destruction of carbon dioxide, forming free oxygen and carbon monoxide. A complicated chemical chain then resupply the atmosphere with carbon dioxide and leaves behind a mixture of some of the trace gases involved in the chain. Our interest here is that the oxygen isotopologue ratios, in its various forms, is a result of the entire resupply chain. We are presently (January and onward) performing tests of the design of the instrument, so more details will be available in time for the presentation.

SPIE Remote Sensing, Security + Defence to showcase sensor and imaging technologies

Co-located events mirror overlap, promote collaboration among underpinning technologies
http://spie.org/x110054.xml

04 September 2014

Amsterdam will host the co-located SPIE Remote Sensing and SPIE Security + Defence conferences this month.

CARDIFF, UK -- SPIE Remote Sensing and SPIE Security + Defenceconferences co-located in Amsterdam this month will provide a stimulating multidisciplinary forum for the latest research in signal processing, electro-optical system design, nanoengineering, and lasers for imaging and sensing applications. The event is sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and will run 22-25 September in the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Registered attendees may attend presentations in either conference, including four plenary talks by high-level speakers illustrating the breadth of applications enabled by the event's technologies:

• Security + Defence speakers Jos Benschop of ASML and Peter de With of Technische Universiteit Eindhoven will talk about laser sources and integrated circuit systems for multiple applications, and advanced imaging and sensing systems utilizing CMOS and other technologies.
• Remote Sensing speakers Bart Snijders of TNO and Lisa Huddleston of the NASA Kennedy Space Center will provide perspectives on sensing from space and from Earth, detailing instrumentation and systems used in monitoring weather, natural disasters, and climate change as well as in astronomy.

The Security + Defence technical programme includes nearly 300 papers on topics such as unmanned sensors, technologies for optical countermeasures, quantum-physics-based information technology, millimeter wave and terahertz sensors, and military applications in hyperspectral imaging and high-resolution sensing. Symposium chair is David Titterton, Defence Academy of the UK.

Remote Sensing will include approximately 600 presentations, on topics including sensor technology, next generation satellites, remote sensing of the Earth and its environment, atmospheric propagation, and signal and image processing. Updates on Sentinel, the Rosetta probe, and other current and future space missions will be among the talks. Symposium chair is Charles Bostater, Marine-Environmental Optics Lab and Remote Sensing Center, Florida Institute of Technology.

Security + Defence also includes a free-admission exhibition of more than 30 developers and suppliers showcasing devices and systems for chemical and biological sensing; infrared sources, detectors, and sensors; lasers and other light sources; cameras and CCD components; displays; electronic imaging systems; fiber optic components; and more.

The 50-year heritage of TNO will be celebrated in a dedicated session on Wednesday afternoon during the week. Presentations will detail the organisation's contributions to developments in the field of Earth observation, including instrument design, manufacturing, calibration, and downstream applications.

A lab tour of the European Space Agency is offered on Friday immediately following the conference. Space is limited and advance registration is required, either online via the event registration form or at the registration desk onsite.

Conference proceedings will be published online in the SPIE Digital Libraryafter the event as manuscripts are approved, with CD publication following when all manuscripts are in.

SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. The Society serves more than 235,000 constituents from approximately 155 countries, offering conferences, continuing education, books, journals, and a digital library in support of interdisciplinary information exchange, professional networking, and patent precedent. SPIE provided over $3.2 million in support of education and outreach programs in 2012.

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Media Contact:
Amy Nelson
Public Relations Manager
amy@spie.org
Tel: +1 360 685 5478

4 Photonics Projects Get Defense Funding

http://photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=56268

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2014 — The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded funding totaling $28.3 million for four photonics graduate research projects under its Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI).

Brief summaries of the projects follow. For further information on each project, follow the hyperlinks provided.

• $7.5 million for study of photochemical and photophysical processes involving plasmonic nanoparticles. Potential applications include water remediation, sterilization, distillation and electric power generation.

One project group will examine the charge and energy transfer between plasmons and molecules, while another will use spectroscopy to measure the processes in real time. Team members come from the universities of Columbia, Princeton, Rice, Minnesota and Oldenburg, Germany.

• $7.5 million for exploration of plasma-based photonic crystals and metamaterials that operate in the terahertz range. Potential applications include communications, imaging and remote sensing.

Team members come from the universities of Pennsylvania State, Stanford, Tufts, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); University of Texas at Austin; and Washington.

• $6.75 million for research into quantum computers. One goal of the new project is to communicate information between electrical quantum states and light using high-frequency mechanical motion as the intermediary. Specifically, the team will exploit the piezoelectric effect in optomechanical devices so as to transfer information between optical, vibrational and electrical quantum states.

The team includes members from the University of Chicago, Cornell, McGill and Yale universities, and the California Institute of Technology.

• $6.5 million to examine configurable metasurfaces that manipulate light for advances in lenses, communications, imaging and quantum information.

Team members come from the universities of Harvard, Columbia, Lund, Purdue, Stanford, Pennsylvania and Southampton.

The photonics projects are among 24 basic research initiatives at 64 academic institutions receiving a total of $167 million over the next five years from DOD. Initially, 361 white papers were received, 88 of which were selected for more detailed proposals.

DOD said past MURI projects have led to advances in laser frequency combs for precision in navigation and targeting, atomic and molecular self-assembly, and spintronics.