The concept of utilizing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology for landmine detection and discrimination has been evaluated using both laboratory LIBS and a prototype man-portable LIBS systems. LIBS spectra were collected for a suite of landmine casings, non-mine plastic materials, and "clutter-type" objects likely to be present in the soil of a conflict area or a former conflict area. Landmine casings examined included a broad selection of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines from different countries of manufacture. Other materials analyzed included rocks and soil, metal objects, cellulose materials, and different types of plastics. Two "blind" laboratory tests were conducted in which 100 broadband LIBS spectra were obtained for a mixed suite of landmine casings and clutter objects and compared with a previously-assembled spectral reference library. Using a linear correlation approach, "mine/no mine" determinations were correctly made for more than 90% of the samples in both tests. A similar test using a prototype man-portable LIBS system yielded an analogous result, validating the concept of using LIBS for landmine detection and discrimination.
The ability to interrogate objects buried in soil and ascertain their chemical composition in-situ would be an important capability enhancement for both military and humanitarian demining. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a simple spark spectrochemical technique using a pulsed laser. Recent developments in broadband and man-portable LIBS provide the capability for the real-time detection at very high sensitivity of all elements in any target material because all chemical elements emit in the 200-940 nm spectral region. This technological advance offers a unique potential for the development of a rugged and reliable man-portable or robot-deployable chemical sensor that would be capable of both in-situ point probing and chemical sensing for landmine detection.Broadband LIBS data was acquired under laboratory conditions for more than a dozen different types of anti-personnel and anti-tank landmine casings from four countries plus a set of antitank landmine simulants. Subsequently, a statistical classification technique (partial least squares discriminant analysis, PLS-DA) was used to discriminate landmine casings from the simulants and to assign "unknown" spectra to a mine type based upon a library classification approach. Overall, a correct classification success of 99.0% was achieved, with a misclassification rate of only 1.8%. This performance illustrates the potential that LIBS has to be developed into a field-deployable device that could be utilized as a confirmatory sensor in landmine detection. The operational concept envisioned is a small LIBS system that is either man-portable or robot-deployed in which a micro-laser is contained in the handle of a deminer's probe, with laser light delivered and collected through an optical fiber in the tapered tip of the probe. In such a configuration, chemical analysis could be readily accomplished by LIBS after touching the buried object that one is interested in identifying and using real-time statistical signal processing techniques to accomplish "mine/nomine" discrimination and even object identification if a material library could be constructed prior to analysis.
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