Motivation

Reliable detection of trace amounts of explosive materials is important for security screening, the protection of critical infrastructure, and humanitarian demining. Many explosives have distinctive molecular fingerprints in the mid-infrared. Conventional instruments for this spectral range, however, are often bulky, costly, or dependent on sensitive infrared detectors.

QUANTEX uses spectroscopy with undetected light to combine the chemical selectivity of the mid-infrared with robust detection in the visible range. One photon interacts with the sample, while its quantum-correlated partner photon is measured using established silicon detector technology.

Objectives and approach

The project develops two complementary nonlinear interferometers that access different parts of the molecular infrared fingerprint region. This requires broadband quantum light sources, stable interferometric architectures, suitable sample interfaces, and methods for reconstructing and analysing the spectra.

The systems will first be characterised in the laboratory and then integrated into compact demonstrators. Their performance will be evaluated using certified reference samples and under application-relevant environmental conditions, with particular attention to chemical selectivity, reliability, short acquisition times, and robust operation.

Innovation and perspectives

QUANTEX transfers quantum interferometry from a fundamental research setting to a security-relevant sensing application. Detection in the visible range avoids the need for complex cooled infrared detectors. The goal is a compact, field-capable platform that reduces false alarms and enables rapid identification of characteristic substances.

The technology is relevant beyond explosive detection. In the future, the measurement principle may be adapted to other hazardous substances, industrial gases, environmental analysis, and medical diagnostics.

Collaborators

The project is conducted by TU Darmstadt and the Institute of Physics Belgrade in Serbia. SENZOR INFIZ d.o.o. and the Military Technical Institute in Belgrade contribute application-oriented expertise to the evaluation of the demonstrators and their practical usability.