MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Block MEMS has recently been awarded a prestigious Army Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II Enhancement Contract. This award follows Block's previous success in winning a Phase II Commercialization Pilot Program (CPP) award for its versatile LaserScan™ Analyzer.

Petros Kotidis, CEO of Block MEMS, stated, "The focus of this new award will be on enhancing the LaserScan's capabilities through the development of novel chemical recognition algorithms. These algorithms will enable LaserScan to detect liquid and solid chemical warfare agents and other emerging chemical threats, from a standoff distance on a variety of substrates."

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, traditional and nontraditional chemical agents, biological agents and toxic industrial chemicals. It also analyzes gases and liquids. An alternate version of the device is designed to interface with common FTIR accessories, including liquid and gas cells, fiber optic probes and reflectance accessories. The LaserScan can also be outfitted to function as an IR microscope.

About Block Engineering LLC:
Founded in 1956, Block Engineering, LLC is a leading manufacturer and marketer of high performance Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) and FTIR spectrometers for military, government, commercial, and industrial customers. Block's Mobile Chemical Agent Detector (MCAD) system is a fixed site, passive FTIR spectrometer offered in partnership with Northrop Grumman Corp.  Block's PORTHOS™ is a portable, passive FTIR spectrometer system that remotely detects chemical threats as far as three miles and protects against chemical warfare agents and weapons of mass destruction. Block Engineering is also manufacturing and selling a line of unique QCL-based spectrometers, including the LaserScan Analyzer, for applications ranging from detection of explosives and liquid/solid chemical warfare agents to control of manufacturing operations and verification of surface conditions in a variety of industrial processes.

About Block MEMS LLC:
Block MEMS, LLC is an engineering and development company focusing on the R&D of high performance Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) and FTIR spectrometers for military and government customers. Following the success of its commercial-off-the-shelf passive FTIR products, such as MCAD and PORTHOS, Block MEMS has applied its extensive knowledge of spectroscopy and chemical detection towards the development of its high performance QCL based spectrometers, including LaserScan™. LaserScan has attracted high interest in the Department of Defense for detection of explosives and liquid/solid chemical warfare agents. In addition, Block MEMS is developing a revolutionary MEMS-based, miniaturized spectrometer, ChemPen™, which is a low cost, FTIR chemical gas detector the size of a fountain pen.

Block MEMS and Block Engineering are affiliated through common ownership and share headquarters in Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA. For more information, visit http://www.blockeng.com.

Contact:
Ms. Marcia Peisach
marcia.peisach@blockeng.com
508-251-3114

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SOURCE Block Engineering LLC

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