Nicola Liberatore

• Doctor of Engineering
• Consorzio C.R.E.O.

Achieving fast analytical results on-site with the highest possible accuracy in forensic analyses is crucial for investigations. While portable sensors are essential for crime scene analysis, they often face limitations in sensitivity and specificity, especially due to environmental factors. Data fusion (DF) techniques can enhance accuracy and reli...

The detection and identification of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) present challenges in emergency response scenarios and for safety and security applications. This study presents the development and validation of an innovative analytical method using a gas chromatography and quartz-enhanced photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy (GC-QEPAS) sensor for...

Illicit drug production in clandestine laboratories involves the use of large quantities of different chemicals that can be obtained for legitimate purposes. The identification of these chemicals, including reagents, catalyzers and solvents, is crucial for forensic investigations. From a legal point of view, a drug precursor is a material that is s...

This paper reports on a compact and lightweight sensor for analysis of gases/vapors by means of a MEMS-based pre-concentrator coupled to a miniaturized infrared absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) module. The pre-concentrator was utilized to sample and trap vapors in a MEMS cartridge filled with sorbent material and to release them once concentrated by...

This paper reports on a compact, portable, and selective chemical sensor for hazardous vapors at trace levels, which is under development and validation within the EU project H2020 “RISEN”. Starting from the prototype developed for a previous EU project, here, we implemented an updated two-stage purge and trap vapor pre-concentration system, a more...

Starting from Quartz-Enhanced Photo-Acoustic Spectroscopy (QEPAS), we have explored the potential of a tightly linked method of gas/vapor sensing, from now on referred to as Tuning-Fork-Enhanced Photo-Acoustic Spectroscopy (TFEPAS). TFEPAS utilizes a non-piezoelectric metal or dielectric tuning fork to transduce the photoacoustic excitation and an...

Aim The capability to provide timely forensic analytical information is of paramount importance in criminal investigations involving chemical substances of toxicological interest. Miniaturized Gas Chromatography (GC) systems are suitable sensors to be deployed on the scene of crime, allowing to analyse specimens there, providing timely information...

This paper reports on a portable selective chemical sensor for hazardous vapors at trace levels, which combines a two-stage purge and trap vapor pre-concentration system, a Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) based fast gas-chromatographic (FAST-GC) separation column and a miniaturized quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) detector....

We report on a low-cost, portable, analogue Lock-In Amplifier (LIA) designed to perform fast measurements of amplitude variations of pulsed signals modulated up to 1MHz. The LIA architecture, based on the phase-sensitive synchronous demodulation technique, is simple and includes two amplification stages together with filtering blocks that allow set...

We report on a low-cost analogue Lock-In Amplifier (LIA) designed to measure amplitude variations of pulsed signals at operating frequencies up to f0=1MHz. The fabricated prototype PCB, implemented through discrete off-the-shelf components, allowed to validate the solution and to perform circuit testing and characterisations. The proposed LIA archi...

A compact portable and standalone point sensor has been developed for the detection and identification of precursors of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to be part of a network of sensors for the discovery of hidden bomb factories in homeland security applications. The sensor is based on quartz enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS), an...

Analytical instruments based on InfraRed Absorption Spectroscopy (IRAS) and Gas Chromatography (GC) are today available only as bench-top instrumentation for forensic labs and bulk analysis. Within the 'DIRAC' project funded by the European Commission, we are developing an advanced portable sensor, that combines miniaturized GC as its key chemical...

A portable, advanced IR sensor in a hollow fiber matched to a silicon micromachined fast gas chromatography column can analyze illegal stimulants and precursors with nanogram-level sensitivity.

Advanced IR emitters and sensors are under development for high detection probability, low false alarm rate, and identification capability of toxic gases. One of the most reliable techniques to identify the gas species is absorption spectroscopy, especially in the medium infrared spectral range, where most of existing toxic compounds exhibit their...

A new detection system for ATS and their precursors has been designed and a bench-top demonstrator has been realized. A test campaign has been performed in order to assess the overall system behavior, and the results confirmed the feasibility of this type of device.

Gas detection applications may require both sensitivity and selectivity, especially when operating in polluted environments and when extremely toxic compounds should be revealed, which could be very dangerous even when present at very low concentrations. The infrared absorption spectra represent an unambiguous signature of whatever gas compounds mi...

The Nerve gases are persistent gases that appear as very challenging menace in homeland security scenarios, due to the low pressure vapor at ambient temperature, and the very low lethal concentrations. A novel approach to the detection and identification of these very hazardous volatile compounds in large areas such as airports, underground station...

Advanced IR emitters and sensors are under development for high detection probability, low false alarm rate and identification capability of toxic gases. One of the most reliable techniques for gas identification is Absorption Spectroscopy, especially in the Mid- and Far Infra-Red, where most molecules exhibit their strongest roto-vibrational absor...

Advanced IR emitters and sensors are under development for high detection probability, low false alarm rate and identification capability of toxic gases. One of the most reliable technique to identify the gas species is Spectroscopy, especially in the infrared spectral range, where most of existing toxic compounds exhibit their stronger roto-vibrat...

A 0.35mum CMOS 16-cell read-out for an un-cooled VOx micro-bolometers array [1, 2] uses auto-ranging circuit to boosts the sensor dynamic-range with 19dB. Each device measures the electrical conductivity change of its sensor with respect to a common reference blind element. Before doing this, each readout channel accomplishes sequentially an automa...

This paper presents a custom test bench for testing the characteristics of various infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPA) types [Fundamentals of IR Detector Operation and Testing, 1990, p. 26], based on CMT and microbolometer. The data belong to the testing developed by Consorzio CREO in the field of high-performance IRFPA, using high-yield CMOS read-...

A novel approach to multi-spectral thermal imaging using staring system has been developed. An original optical assembly has been designed set up and tested that allows to acquire simultaneously four images of the same target in different spectral bands using a single commercial IRFPA sensor and a single commercial focusing lens. The spectral and s...

In order to overcome the difficulties of testing infrared imaging systems, an hardware infrared simulator has been developed. It consists of a panel of infrared micro-emitters, which simulates a real scenario generated by a computer software, the electronics and the optics required to allow the imaging system to see the scene, as it would come from...