An active real-time characterization system for monitoring the absorption and/or curing rate of a chemical substance applied to an outer surface of an article under test. Infrared and visible light sources controllably output a pulsed beam of coherent light directed at a particular area on the article under test where the chemical substance has been applied. A series of cameras, including a visible light camera, a visible light second harmonic generation camera, an infrared camera, an infrared second harmonic generation camera, a sum-frequency camera and a third-order camera are configured to receive return beams of light. A processor controls the pulse rate of the light sources and the first visible light source and processes the signals received from the cameras to determine when the chemical substance applied to the outer surface of the article under test has been absorbed or has cured.