Method and apparatus for sensing the presence of explosives, contraband and other molecules using nuclear quadrupole resonance and a swept frequency continuous wave source

摘要

Stimulated emissions due to nuclear quadropole resonance are detected utilizing a terminated balanced transmission line and a directional coupler for the detection of explosives, contraband, narcotics and the like that exist between the transmission lines, in which a swept frequency continuous wave generator is utilized to scan between 100 KHz and 10 MHz.

主权项

1. A method for performing a nuclear quadrupole resonance measurement on a material, comprising the steps of:
placing a target material having spectral line associated therewith between the conductors of a balanced non-coiled non-resonant untunable transmission line having parallel spaced apart conductors terminated with a resistive element equal to the impedance of the balanced transmission line; driving the transmission line through a circulator with a swept frequency continuous wave signal having a frequency equal to that of one of the spectral lines of the target material to produce a stimulated emission; and, detecting the stimulated emission from the target material from an output of the circulator.