Researchers develop EM-based detection device

A team of German and Russian scientists say they have developed a nano-electronic solid-state device that employs electromagnetic (EM) radiation for the near-instantaneous identification of liquid explosives in plastic bottles.

Simple liquids such as water, ethanol and acetone emit specific molecular signatures as their atomic density differs, so the notion of employing EM radiation to inspect the chemical properties of liquids is not new. Yet previous attempts, which worked at single fixed frequencies within a small range, proved incapable of identifying mixtures of potentially harmful liquids without ambiguity.

Researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich, in co-operation with scientists from the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, said that they can use Hilbert spectroscopy to extend the range of spectral analysis.

Hilbert spectroscopy was pioneered at the Russian Academy of Sciences as a method to analyse EM radiation in the frequency range from low gigahertz to a few terahertz. "The broader the frequency range of the measurements, the more detailed molecular dynamics can be revealed and the more reliable will be the liquid identification," an official at the institute told Jane's .