James B. Spicer

Spectroscopic characterization of explosives in the far-infrared region

Far infrared spectra of 14 commonly used explosive samples have been measured by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (THz TDS). New absorption resonances between 20 cm-1 and 650 cm-1 are reported. Below 20 cm-1, no clear absorption resonances are observed in all the explosives. There is a good consistency of far-IR spectrum measured by Far-FTIR and by THz TDS in explosives 3,5-DNA and 2,4-DNT. Observed far-IR spectrum of TNT is compared with a previously reported theoretical calculation.

Line source representation for laser-generated ultrasound in aluminum

Modeling the ultrasound generated by a laser source is critical for using noncontact laser-generated ultrasonic systems for the characterization of material properties. In this work, a laser line source was modeled and verified experimentally by measuring the ultrasonic shear wave signal generated in aluminum with a broadband laser generation/electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT)-detection system. Results of calculations and experiments show that the amplitude directivity of a laser line source is identical to that of a point source in the plane perpendicular to the line axis while the temporal dependence differs.

Quantitative theory for laser ultrasonic waves in a thin plate

Numerical inversion of the Hankel–Laplace transform has been performed for the case of ultrasonic displacements in an infinite, homogeneous, isotropic plate which is excited thermoelastically by a laser pulse. Values for the elastic moduli and the plate thickness may be extracted when the calculated displacements are compared directly to those obtained experimentally. Previous authors have demonstrated methods for determining the elastic modulus in thick plates; this letter shows that using a different method for the development of the theory allows similar modulus determinations to be made for thin as well as thick plates.

Laser generation of narrow-band and directed ultrasound

Abstract An aluminium hemicylindrical sample has been irradiated with an array of laser lines, with each line acting as a source of acoustic waves. Detection of the generated ultrasonic waves was performed using both a wide-band stabilized Michelson interferometer and a 20 MHz piezoelectric transducer. Experimental and theoretical results are presented which reveal that the use of a spatially modulated laser source produces significant narrow-banding of the detected ultrasound, compared with a single point or single line source case. Additionally, for a given line spacing, ultrasound of a particular frequency can be directed. Owing to the nature of the acoustic signals generated by each individual array element, superposition of several signals does not result in any energy directivity similar to that encountered in phase electromagnetic array antennas. While time or frequency feature enhancement may be obtained in a desired direction, in most cases the far field energy directivity pattern is simply the incoherent sum of the energy directivity of each array element.

Femtosecond and nanosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of trinitrotoluene

Femtosecond and nanosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) were used to study trinitrotoluene (TNT) deposited on aluminum substrates. Over the detection wavelength range of 200-785 nm, we have observed emission from CN and C(2) molecules as the marker for the explosive with femtosecond LIBS. In contrast, the signal for nanosecond LIBS of TNT is dominated by emission from the elemental constituents of the explosive. Aluminum emission lines from the substrate are also observed with both femtosecond and nanosecond excitation and indicate the role played by the substrate in the interaction.

Generation of ultrasound by repetitively Q-switching a pulsed Nd:YAG laser

Repetitively Q-switching a Nd:YAG laser during a single flashlamp pulse has been used successfully to generate a train of acoustic pulses with a repetition rate as high as 53 kHz. The spectral content of this multiple-pulse ultrasonic signal is significantly narrower in bandwidth than that of a single pulse. A corresponding reduction in the detection system bandwidth results in a marked improvement in detection sensitivity.

Generation of narrow‐band ultrasound with a long cavity mode‐locked Nd:YAG laser

A passively mode‐locked, flashlamp‐pumped Nd:YAG laser with a cavity length of 11.19 m has been developed to study the noncontact generation of narrow‐band ultrasound. The individual mode‐locked pulses acted as separate sources of ultrasound, producing a train of acoustic pulses with a repetition rate of about 13.4 MHz. The ultrasound was generated in an aluminum sample and remotely detected with a path stabilized Michelson interferometer. The energy in the multiple pulse acoustic signal was confined to a considerably reduced spectral range compared with that in a single pulse.

Ultrafast laser-based spectroscopy and sensing: applications in LIBS, CARS, and THz spectroscopy.

Ultrafast pulsed lasers find application in a range of spectroscopy and sensing techniques including laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), coherent Raman spectroscopy, and terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. Whether based on absorption or emission processes, the characteristics of these techniques are heavily influenced by the use of ultrafast pulses in the signal generation process. Depending on the energy of the pulses used, the essential laser interaction process can primarily involve lattice vibrations, molecular rotations, or a combination of excited states produced by laser heating. While some of these techniques are currently confined to sensing at close ranges, others can be implemented for remote spectroscopic sensing owing principally to the laser pulse duration. We present a review of ultrafast laser-based spectroscopy techniques and discuss the use of these techniques to current and potential chemical and environmental sensing applications.

Effects of surface roughness on reflection spectra obtained by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

We present an analytical model that shows that reflection from a rough surface causes a Gaussian frequency roll-off for the spectral magnitude of a terahertz wave and reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. The parameter that determines the width of the frequency roll-off is the standard deviation of the surface height distribution. Measurements of terahertz waves reflected from copper powder samples provide experimental evidence for this effect.

Line source representation for laser-generated ultrasound in an elastic transversely isotropic half-space

Theoretical and experimental results are presented for a laser line source in an elastic, transversely isotropic half-space. The thermoelastic source (laser source) is represented as an appropriately weighted shear stress dipole applied at the sample surface. The plane of isotropy coincides with the half-space boundary. Analytical expressions representing the out-of-plane displacements for the surface wave and for the epicentral cases are given for all crystal classes that exhibit elastic transverse isotropy. In addition, quasianalytical results are given for observation points off the epicentral axis. Theoretical wave forms for all of the source/observation geometries considered are compared with experimental wave forms generated in single crystal zinc samples. The close comparison between experiment and theory confirms, for this particular line source orientation and crystal symmetry, that a laser line source is accurately modeled using an equivalent boundary stress.