Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method for operating a Raman sensor, comprising:performing a plurality of ancillary data checks that monitor operating conditions of system components of a Raman sensor comprising a laser, a spectrograph and an intensified charge coupled device (ICCD);acquiring Raman spectral data as a result of pulsing the laser and passing returning light from a sample illuminated by the laser through the spectrograph and capturing Raman spectra of the spectrograph by the ICCD;performing a plurality of data quality checks related to the Raman spectral data acquired during said acquiring step;determining, based on results of the data quality checks, whether to further process the Raman spectral data acquired during said acquiring step and, if so, storing the Raman spectral data acquired during said acquiring step for further processing;repeating successively, a predetermined number of times, said step of acquiring Raman spectral data and said step of performing a plurality of data quality checks related to the Raman spectral data, and then again performing said step of performing a plurality of ancillary data checks;storing in a log file a series of acquired Raman spectral data, and closing the log file after said predetermined number of times; andafter said closing step, acquiring a predetermined number of dark spectral data and revising a previously calculated dark spectral data median. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of performing a plurality of ancillary data checks comprises monitoring a state of each of the ICCD and the laser. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising monitoring a temperature of one or more components of the Raman sensor. 4. The method of 1, wherein said step of performing a plurality of ancillary data checks comprises monitoring a linear focus actuator of an autofocus subsystem to maintain proper focus of the optics which collect the Raman spectrum. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of performing a plurality of data quality checks comprises monitoring laser energy. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of performing a plurality of data quality checks comprises determining whether the Raman spectral data acquired during said acquiring step is saturated or is of insufficient amplitude. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising halting further Raman spectral data acquisition upon a failure of one of the plurality of ancillary data checks. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a gain for the ICCD in response to one of the plurality of data quality checks. 9. A method of operating a Raman spectroscopy device, the device comprising a laser, a spectrograph, an intensified charge coupled device (ICCD), and an autofocus subsystem, the method comprising:performing a plurality of ancillary data checks that monitor operating conditions of at least the laser, the ICCD, and the autofocus subsystem;acquiring Raman spectral data by pulsing the laser and collecting resulting Raman spectra with the ICCD via the spectrograph;performing a plurality of data quality checks related to the Raman spectral data acquired during said acquiring step;determining, based on results of the data quality checks, whether to further process the Raman spectral data acquired during said acquiring step and, if so, storing the Raman spectral data acquired during said acquiring step for further processing;repeating successively, a predetermined number of times, said step of acquiring Raman spectral data and said step of performing a plurality of data quality checks related to the Raman spectral data;storing in a log file a series of acquired Raman spectral data, and closing the log file after said predetermined number of times; andafter said closing step, acquiring a predetermined number of dark spectral data and revising a previously calculated dark spectral data median. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, repeating said step of performing a plurality of ancillary data checks after said repeating successively. 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising halting further Raman spectral data acquisition if one of the plurality of ancillary data checks indicates a failure. 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing Raman spectral data that has passed the plurality of data quality checks for agent identification processing. 13. The method of claim 9, further comprising adjusting a gain of the ICCD in response to at least one of the plurality of data quality checks. 14. A Raman spectroscopy system, comprising:a laser that is configured to pulse at a predetermined frequency;an autofocus subsystem that controls focus of a telescope that is directed, optically, at the same spot illuminated by the laser;a spectrograph and an intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) that are configured to receive Raman spectra resulting from the laser pulse via the telescope; anda processor and associated memory, the memory being configured to store the individual Raman spectra as individual records of Raman spectral data as captured by the ICCD, the processor being configured to execute a plurality of ancillary data checks that monitor operating conditions of at least the laser, the ICCD, and the autofocus subsystem, and to execute a plurality of data quality checks related to the usefulness of the Raman spectral data,wherein the processor is further configured to determine, based on results of the data quality checks, whether to store Raman spectral data in a log file for further processing and whether to repeat execution of the plurality of ancillary data checks, andwherein the processor is still further configured to store in the log file a series of acquired Raman spectral data, to close the log file after a predetermined number of series have been stored; and after the log is closed to acquire a predetermined number of dark spectral data and revise a previously calculated dark spectral data median. 15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a rangefinder subsystem that operates in conjunction with the autofocus subsystem. 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether a given collected Raman spectrum is saturated, corrupted, or is of insufficient amplitude. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to initiate a routine to adjust a gain of the ICCD when a determination is made that the given collected Raman spectrum is saturated or is of insufficient amplitude.