High-throughput real-time chemical contraband detection

William R. Stott; William R. Davidson; Richard Sleeman

doi:10.1117/12.171279

28 March 1994 High-throughput real-time chemical contraband detection

William R. Stott, William R. Davidson, Richard Sleeman

Proceedings Volume 2092, Substance Detection Systems; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.171279
Event: Substance Identification Technologies, 1993, Innsbruck, Austria

Abstract

Representative samples for chemical detection can either be in the vapor or solid phase (trace particulate residues). In the CONDOR^TM contraband detection system the chemical detector is a tandem mass spectrometer that is programmable to measure the concentration in air of a variety of drug and explosive compounds. These measurements are done essentially simultaneously. The means of measuring air samples is straight forward since the contraband is already carried in vapor form in an air stream. However for particulate, a new front end module has been designed which thermally vaporizes the samples and entrains the resulting gases into a stream of hot air that is directed to the mass spectrometer ionization region. Due to the nearly instantaneous output of results, the sampling system is designated as the Real Time Sampler or more simply RTS. In this paper some of the design considerations and operational characteristics of the RTS will be discussed, including mechanical layout, timing, response times, desorption and transport system temperatures, contamination and memory- effect difficulties, as well as sensitivity and noise characteristics.

Citation Download Citation

William R. Stott, William R. Davidson, and Richard Sleeman "High-throughput real-time chemical contraband detection", Proc. SPIE 2092, Substance Detection Systems, (28 March 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.171279

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