Publications by Author: Wayne O'Brien

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O’Brien, Wayne, Nicholas D. Boltin, Zhenyu Lu, Brianna M. Cassidy, Raymond G. Belliveau, Emory J. Straub, Stephanie A. DeJong, Stephen L. Morgan, and ML Myrick. (2015) 2015. “Chemical Contrast Observed in Thermal Images of Blood-Stained Fabrics Exposed to Steam”. Analyst 140 (18): 6222-25.
Publisher's Version

Thermal imaging is not ordinarily a good way to visualize chemical contrast. In recent work, however, we observed strong and reproducible images with chemical contrasts on blood-stained fabrics, especially on more hydrophobic fabrics like acrylic and polyester.

O’Brien, Wayne, Nicholas D. Boltin, Stephanie A. DeJong, Zhenyu Lu, Brianna M. Cassidy, Scott J. Hoy, Stephen L. Morgan, and ML Myrick. (2015) 2015. “An Improved-Efficiency Compact Lamp for the Thermal Infrared”. Applied Spectroscopy 69 (12): 1511-13.
Publisher's Version

A major type of infrared camera is sensitive to wavelengths in the 8–14 μm band and is mainly used for thermal imaging. Such cameras can also be used for general broadband infrared reflectance imaging when provided with a suitable light source. We report the design and properties of an infrared lamp using a heated alumina emitter suitable for active thermal infrared imaging, as well as comparisons to existing commercial light sources for this purpose. We find that the alumina lamp is a broadband non-blackbody source with a lower out-of-band emission intensity and therefore higher electrical efficiency for this application than existing commercial sources.

O’Brien, Wayne, ML Myrick, Nicholas D. Boltin, and Scott J. Hoy. (2014) 2014. Infrared Light Sources and Methods of Their Use and Manufacture. 14176201, issued 2014.
Publisher's Version

Infrared light sources, along with their methods of formation, are provided. The infrared light source can include a base Substrate defining an aperture; a filament extending through the aperture defined by the base substrate; a resistive metal wire wrapped around the filament to define a coil having a first end and a second end; a high temperature coating Sur rounding at least a portion of the filament and the coil; a first electrode electrically connected to the first end of the coil; and a second electrode electrically connected to the second end of the coil.

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Myrick, ML, Stephen L. Morgan, Stephanie A. DeJong, Nicholas D. Boltin, Zhenyu Lu, Jessica N. McCutcheon, Brianna M. Cassidy, Raymond G. Belliveau, Megan R. Pearl, and Wayne O’Brien. (2015) 2015. “Effect of Azimuthal Angle on Infrared Diffuse Reflection Spectra of Fabrics”. MJH Life Sciences 30: 23-25.
Publisher's Version

Infrared spectroscopy is an appealing technique for application to forensic samples because it offers the benefits of being non-destructive and non-hazardous, fast, reasonably sensitive, and resistant to some of the interferences of many commonly used techniques. Our research team has been focusing on detecting biological fluids on fabrics, which are inherently anisotropic substrates for spectroscopy. The work presented here investigates the effect of azimuthal angle of the sample on the infrared diffuse reflection spectra of fabrics with a goal of removing sampling differences as a source of analytic variation.