Near infrared (NIR) spectral imaging for NDE

A novel technique of NIR imaging is presented that gives access to most of the applications currently published as being solely suitable for terahertz waves. This technique also affords the means to provide simultaneous insitu chemical-bond analysis and simultaneously combine chemical/spectral identification with imaging. The two separate features of the technique can be combined in a data fusion that produces a conventional image with chemical data etc superimposed (e.g. via false colours on the image) by imaging software. The technique itself uses NIR beams wavelengths found in ordinary domestic remote controls (circa 850 nm) and various signal recovery techniques commonly found in astronomy. This alternative technique can be realised by very simple and inexpensive electronics and is inherently far more portable and easy to use and no special sources are required. Transmission imaging results from this technique are presented from several industrial examples and various security applications and are compared and contrasted directly with their terahertz-derived counterparts. It would appear possible to very cheaply and simply emulate the performance of commercial terahertz systems at a fraction of the cost and with greatly reduced processing times. Also, unlike terahertz, this technique can penetrate bulk water and high humidity atmospheres and be used in transmission mode on biological and medical samples. To illustrate this point, several results are presented of non-ionising x-ray type images that even differentiate between separate types of soft tissue