Sizing of individual aerosol particles using TAOS (Two-dimensional Angular Optical Scattering) pattern total intensity

Abstract:

The morphology of single aerosol particles has been explored previously using the TAOS (Two-dimensional Angular Optical Scattering) technique, which captures angularly resolved scattering patterns. Particle size is known to strongly influence the light scattering properties of aerosols and therefore is a critical parameter to discern from the TAOS patterns. In this work, T-matrix simulation of light scattering from spherical and spheroidal particles is used to explore the possibility of sizing particles from the total light scattering signal detected using the TAOS technique. Scattering patterns were calculated for particles that span various particle sizes, spheroidal shapes, complex refractive indices and particles orientations representative of atmospheric aerosol distributions. A power law relationship between particle size and total scattering intensity was found that could crudely size particles but with significant error.