Combined Optical and Ionization Measurement Techniques for Inexpensive Characterization of Micrometer and Submicrometer Aerosols

Abstract

This article describes a simple combination ionization chamber and angular scattering sensor and presents the results of laboratory experiments to define its response to micrometer and submicrometer aerosols as a function of aerosol mass, surface, and diameter. The results of these experiments indicate that a simple theory is adequate to describe the operation of the sensor and presents correlations and techniques that will allow the sensor to be used for measurement and characterization of aerosols over a broad spectrum of possible applications related to adverse environmental and health consequences. For particles with volume mean diameters in the range of ~ 150–500 nm, the measured sensor responses yielded signal-to-noise ratios in the range of ~25 to > 500 for mass concentrations in the range of 0.50 to 16 mg/m³.