Patent ID: 6985818

Claim:
A method for sampling and identifying atmospheric constituents, comprising: (a) creating a library of known atmospheric constituents by drawing known atmospheric constituents through a sampling substrate and interrogating said constituents with an optical or spectrometric interrogation device to obtain a known spectral response thereof; (b) collecting a baseline response of said sampling substrate by interrogating said substrate at a sampling area that is pristine; (c) drawing unknown atmospheric constituents through said substrate at a sampling area thereon, said atmospheric constituents comprising one or more of chemical or biological substances in the form of a solid, liquid, aerosol and/or gas; (d) interrogating said sampling area with optical or spectrometric interrogation devices to obtain an interrogation reading for said unknown constituents, wherein multiple interrogating devices are used concurrently to interrogate the same sample area to provide independent detection schemes that allow the system to self-confirm identification; (e) comparing said interrogation reading of said unknown constituents with the library of known constituents and identifying said unknown constituents; (f) advancing the sampling substrate so that a new sampling area of said substrate can be used and repeating steps c, d and e; and (g) demarcating the substrate so that the multiple sampling areas on said substrate can be archived and retrieved.