The TracER laser from Coherent is a tool for trace evidence recovery at crime scenes, including latent fingerprints. Based on a 5W green laser, TracER lowers the barrier to laser use in forensics by delivering enhanced performance and ease of use in an economical platform. The TracER’s high intensity output enables it to perform a non-destructive crime-scene sweep with unprecedented efficiency; it can recover fingerprints and other trace evidence solely from inherent fluorescence. And, the 532nm wavelength is ideal for use with fumed samples and fluorescent probes, such as ninhydrin.
Ease of use factors include compact overall packaging, together with both battery and AC (110/240 V) operation. The TracER is comparable in size and price to systems that utilise an alternative light source, but it offers 10X higher brightness. In addition, TracER includes a fibre-coupled multi-function hand piece, which incorporates power controls (for example, on/off, output level) as well as optical zoom capabilities to optimize the size and intensity of the speckle-free illumination area.