Raman Cross Sections of Chemical Agents and Simulants

The differential Raman scattering cross sections of the chemical agents GA, GB, HD, and VX, and the chemical agent simulants DMMP and DIMP have been measured with visible and UV wavelength excitation. These compounds proved to be weak Raman scatterers with cross sections for the strongest lines on the order of 6 to 10 × 10 −30 cm 2 /sr/molecule with 514.5-nm excitation. Excitation at 363.8 nm yielded only a slight preresonance enhancement of the Raman cross sections. Because of the small cross sections and the lack of enhancement, remote Raman detection of chemical agents appears doubtful.