Patent ID: 6731804
Filing Date: 2004-05-04
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A system for sensing and identifying chemical and biological contaminants in a liquid source, comprising:a sample cell for containing a sample of the liquid source; a metal chamber, said sample cell contained in said metal chamber; a microwave irradiation source connected to said metal chamber and adapted to deliver microwave radiation to the sample contained in said sample cell to induce thermal luminescence of irradiated contaminants contained in the sample; a spectral sensor aligned with said metal chamber to receive the thermal luminescence emitted from said sample, and for producing spectral data therefrom; a spectral pattern recognizer trained to recognize specific spectral patterns in said spectral data for identifying said contaminants in the sample of the liquid source; and wherein said sample cell comprises a sample intake port for acquiring the liquid sample; a sample exit port for discharging the liquid sample; at least one wall for admitting the microwave radiation; and a thermal luminescence exitance window for delivering said luminescence to said spectral sensor.