Characteristics of trace explosives particles in fingerprints for optical detection
Abstract
Trace particle quantities of explosives left behind by those handling explosives materials present an opportunity to identify both the handlers, secondary handlers and the objects they have contacted. Understanding the nature of these particles is critical for tailoring optical detection strategies as well as non-optical contact harvesting methods. We are working towards developing a model to understand and quantify the nature of particles transferred from the hands to different substrate surfaces. In this preliminary paper we report on a newly developed finger test-bed to produce a robotically controlled series of fingerprints, with an artificial finger designed to mimic the physicochemical properties of the human finger. In an initial set of experiments, we examine the effect of a range of applied forces, the effect of a range of initial particle sizes, and the serial print number on the deposited mass and deposited particle sizes, for a surrogate explosive loaded as particles on gloved fingers which are subsequently pressed against a set of clean glass slides.
- Publication:
-
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) Sensing XX
- Pub Date:
- May 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1117/12.2519433
- Bibcode:
- 2019SPIE11010E..0IM