Abstract

Recent world developments have underscored the need for remote sensing of chemical and nerve agents in the modem battlefield. One method of doing this may be to use LIDAR technology. Fortunately, since most of the known threats have prominent spectral features in the 9-11 μm band, the CO₂ laser can be utilized. However, in a realistic environment, the identification task can prove to be quite challenging due to the presence of interferents that have similar spectral features. For example, common vapors such as gasoline and ordinary obscurants such as battlefield smoke and even dust can greatly complicate the identification of a typical agent. This means that typically more than two wavelengths are needed to unambiguously identify the agent. Our current requirement is to utilize as many as 16 CO₂ lasing lines to perform the task. However, this presents a significant engineering problem.

© 1991 Optical Society of America