Stand-Off Chemical Detection Using Photoacoustic Sensing Techniques—From Single Element to Phase Array

Technologies that can detect harmful chemicals, such as explosive devices, harmful gas leaks, airborne chemicals or/and biological agents, are heavily invested in by the government to prevent any possible catastrophic consequences. Some key features of such technology are, but not limited to, effective signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the detected signal and extended distance between the detector and target. In this work, we describe the development of photoacoustic sensing techniques from simple to more complex systems. These techniques include passive and active noise filters, parabolic sound reflectors, a lock-in amplifier, and beam-forming with an array of microphones; using these techniques, we increased detection distance from a few cm in an indoor setting to over 41 feet in an outdoor setting. We also establish a theoretical mathematical model that explains the underlying principle of how SNR can be improved with an increasing number of microphone elements in the phase array. We validate this model with computational simulations as well as experimental results.