The Department of Defense recently highlighted intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities as a top priority for U.S. warfighters. Contributions provided by ISR assets in the operational theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan have been widely documented in press reporting. While the United States continues to increase investments in ISR capabilities, other nations not friendly to the United States will continue to seek countermeasures to U.S. capabilities. The Technology Warning Division of the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) Defense Warning Office (DWO) has the critical responsibility, in collaborations with other components of the intelligence community (IC), for providing U.S. policymakers insight into technological developments that may impact future U.S. warfighting capabilities. To this end, the IC requested that the National Research Council (NRC) investigate and report on key visible and infrared detector technologies, with potential military utility, that are likely to be developed in the next 10-15 years. This study is the eighth in a series sponsored by the DWO and executed under the auspices of the NRC TIGER (Technology Insight-Gauge, Evaluate, and Review) Standing Committee.

The detection of hidden explosives has become an issue of utmost importance in recent years. While terrorism is not new to the international community, recent terrorist attacks have raised the issue of detection of explosives and have generated a great demand for rapid, sensitive and reliable methods for detecting hidden explosives. Counterterrorist Detection Techniques of Explosives covers recent advances in this area of research including vapor and trace detection techniques (chemiluminescence, mass spectrometry, ion mobility spectrometry, electrochemical methods and micromechanical sensors, such as microcantilevers) and bulk detection techniques (neutron techniques, nuclear quadrupole resonance, x-ray diffraction imaging, millimeter-wave imaging, terahertz imaging and laser techniques). This book will be of interest to any scientists involved in the design and application of security screening technologies including new sensors and detecting devices which will prevent the smuggling of bombs and explosives. * Covers latest advances in vapor and trace detection techniques and bulk detection techniques* Reviews both current techniques and those in advanced stages of development* Techniques that are described in detail, including its principles of operation, as well as its applications in the detection of explosives

This richly illustrated hands-on guide is designed for researchers, teachers and practitioners. The huge selection of examples taken from science, basic teaching of physics, practical applications in industry and a variety of other disciplines spanning the range from medicine to volcano research allows readers to pick those that come closest to their own individual task at hand. Following a look at the fundamentals of IR thermal imaging, properties of the imaging systems, as well as basic and advanced methods, the book goes on to discuss IR imaging applications in teaching, research and industry. Specific examples include thermography of buildings, microsystems and the rather new field of IR imaging of gases. Impartially written by expert authors in the field from a renowned applied science institution, who are in the unique position of having both experience in public and private research and in teaching, this comprehensive book can be used for teaching beginners in the field as well as providing further education to specialized staff, students and researchers.

Oxide superconductors with high critical temperature [Tc] make sensitive thermometers for several types of infrared bolometers. The authors built composite bolometers with YBa[sub 2]Cu[sub 3]O[sub 7[minus][delta]] thermometers on sapphire substrates which have higher sensitivity than competing thermal detectors which operate at temperatures above 77 K.A 1 x 1 mm bolometer with gold black serving as the radiation absorber has useful sensitivity for wavelengths 20--100 [mu]m. A 3 x 3 mm bolometer with a bismuth film as the absorber operates from 20--100 [mu]m. High-[Tc] bolometers which are fabricated with micromachining techniques on membranes of Si or Si[sub 3]N[sub 4] have potential application to large-format arrays which are used for infrared imaging. A nonisothermal high-[Tc] bolometer can be fabricated on a membrane of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) which is in thermal contact with the heat sink along the perimeter of the membrane. A thermal analysis indicates that the YSZ membrane bolometer can have improved sensitivity compared to the sapphire bolometer for spectrometer applications. The quasiparticle tunneling current in a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junction is highly nonlinear in the applied voltage. The authors have made the first measurement of the linear response of the quasiparticle current in a Nb/AlO[sub x]/Nb junction over a broad bandwidth from 75--200 GHz. Nonlinear measurements made with these pulses may provide information about the quasiparticle lifetime. Preliminary data from such measurements are presented.

The evolution of technological advances in infrared sensor technology, image processing, "smart" algorithms, knowledge-based databases, and their overall system integration has resulted in new methods of research and use in medical infrared imaging. The development of infrared cameras with focal plane arrays no longer requiring cooling, added a new dimension to this modality. Medical Infrared Imaging: Principles and Practices covers new ideas, concepts, and technologies along with historical background and clinical applications. The book begins by exploring worldwide advances in the medical applications of thermal imaging systems. It covers technology and hardware including detectors, detector materials, un-cooled focal plane arrays, high performance systems, camera characterization, electronics for on-chip image processing, optics, and cost-reduction designs. It then discusses the physiological basis of the thermal signature and its interpretation in a medical setting. The book also covers novel and emerging techniques, the complexities and importance of protocols for effective and reproducible results, storage and retrieval of thermal images, and ethical obligations. Of interest to both the medical and biomedical engineering communities, the book explores many opportunities for developing and conducting multidisciplinary research in many areas of medical infrared imaging. These range from clinical quantification to intelligent image processing for enhancement of the interpretation of images, and for further development of user-friendly high-resolution thermal cameras. These would enable the wide use of infrared imaging as a viable, noninvasive, low-cost, first-line detection modality.

Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-contact, non-invasive methodology which allows for detection of thermal energy that is radiated from objects in the infrared band of the electromagnetic spectrum, for conversion of such energy into a visible image (such as a surface temperature map). This feature represents a great potential to be exploited in a vast variety of fields from aerospace to civil engineering, to medicine, to agriculture, etc. However, IRT is still not adequately enclosed in industrial instrumentation and there are still potential users who might benefit from the use of such a technique and who are not aware of their existence. This e-book conveys information about basic IRT theory, infrared detectors, signal digitalization and applications of infrared thermography in many fields such as medicine, foodstuff conservation, fluid-dynamics, architecture, anthropology, condition monitoring, non destructive testing and evaluation of materials and structures. The volume promotes an exchange of information between the academic world and industry, and shares methodologies which were independently developed and applied in specific disciplines.