Investigation of the Process of Evolution of Traces of Explosives Carried by Fingerprints Using Polarimetric Macrophotography and Remote LF/LIF Method

Abstract

The results of a study of the degradation of the cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) traces carried in fingerprints depending on the fingerprint number are presented. The surface concentration of the trace was assessed using macrophotography in polarized light and by the method of laser fragmentation/laser-induced fluorescence. A technique for estimating the surface concentration of RDX traces in sweat-fat fingerprints based on pixel-by-pixel scanning of macrophotographs is described. The data of parallel experiments on remote laser detection of RDX particles in fingerprints are presented. A comparison shows that the results of the direct measurements of the total trace area are in good agreement with the LF/LIF response data.

Keywords

• explosives
• cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine
• traces
• macrophotography
• laser fragmentation
• laser-induced fluorescence