Explosives detection by nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR)

Pure nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) of 14N nuclei is quite promising as a method for detecting explosives such as RDX and contraband narcotics such as cocaine and heroin in quantities of interest. Pure NQR is conducted without an external applied magnetic field, so potential concerns about damage to magnetically encoded data or exposure of personnel to large magnetic fields are not relevant. Because NQR frequencies of different compounds are quite distinct, we do not encounter false alarms from the NQR signals of other benign materials. We have constructed a laboratory prototype NQR explosives detector which interrogates a volume of 300 liters (10 ft3). This paper presents abbreviated results from a demonstration of the laboratory prototype NQR explosives detector conducted at the Federal Aviation Administration Technical Center in May 1994 on RDX-based explosives.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.