Block MEMS Wins Contract to Participate in the Multi-Mission Multi-Threat Detection (M3TD) Program

Date Announced: 30 Mar 2012

QCL-based system to detect chemical threats.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Block MEMS has been awarded a contract by the Department of Defense's Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) to provide its LaserScan™ Analyzer for evaluation in the Multi-Mission Multi-Threat Detection (M3TD) Technology Evaluation program. The goal of the M3TD program is to evaluate currently available technology for chemical detection and the potential to meet future capability requirements.

Petros Kotidis, CEO of Block, commented, "This award represents a significant and strategically important opportunity for Block to showcase its LaserScan products and demonstrate their capability to the DOD community. Block is fully committed to providing the warfighters with this unique capability, which will enable handheld, standoff detection of chemical threats."

LaserScan is a revolutionary next-generation spectrometer that incorporates widely tunable mid-infrared (IR) quantum cascade lasers (QCL). It detects and measures substances on surfaces from a standoff distance of 6 inches to 2 feet. LaserScan identifies bulk materials and detects sub-micron films based on their mid-IR absorption characteristics. Key applications include detection of explosive materials, liquid and solid chemical agents, biological agents and toxic industrial chemicals.

Source: Block MEMS

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E-mail: marcia.peisach@blockeng.com

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