As the world pivots away from hydrocarbon to hydrogen energy sources, new detection methodologies will be required to maintain safety. A critical factor in the safe use of hydrogen energy sources is access to low-cost, high-performance stand-off detection technology which can readily and autonomously detect hydrogen leaks. The tried-and-trusted path of absorption spectroscopy cannot be utilized with hydrogen due to the absence of optical absorption features for hydrogen. In addition to this, the difficulty in performing range-resolved absorption measurements, precludes the use of backscatter-absorption techniques for hydrogen detection. However, the significant Raman scattering cross-section for hydrogen can be exploited as a route to detection. This approach mandates the use of time-correlated single photon techniques and so confers significant advantage over absorption techniques: specifically, revealing the nature and position of the target substance. We therefore exploit hydrogen’s Raman-scattering cross-section, together with state-of-the-art UV excitation laser and single-photon detection technology to realize a practical handheld system permitting sub-percent level measurements within a 3m range with ~1second integration times. In this paper, we will outline the need for this detection methodology; the challenges associated with realizing practical systems based upon it; and demonstrate our recently developed hand-held hydrogen sensing device.
The stand-off, range-resolved detection of hydrogen production rates is a valuable mechanism for the long-term condition monitoring of packages containing intermediate-level nuclear materials. To exploit this effect we have developed a long-range optical sensor system which uses Raman detection of hydrogen. Our need for operation over extended ranges (up to 100m) results in very low Raman signals. We therefore use time-correlated (with respect to the outgoing excitation laser pulse) and spectrally-resolved single-photon detection to ascertain molecular species, position and concentration as revealed by photon energy, arrival time and number, respectively.
The dual requirement for high spatial and substance specificity makes stand-off in-theatre biological detection of surface biological contaminants extremely challenging. We will describe a novel combined fluorescence multispectral imaging (MSI) and stand-off Raman approach which are united through their use of deep-UV (sub-250 nm excitation. This allows high-confidence location and classification of candidate contamination sites over the camera field of view, and subsequent resonance-Raman classification of these identified sites. Stand-off Raman is enabled through the use of a novel, extremely high-throughput Spatial Heterodyne spectrometer. The viability of this approach is confirmed through its use on application relevant biological simulant samples.
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