US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Yong-Le Pan

Richard Kounai Chang

Steven Clyde Hill

Ronald Gene Pinnick

Kristan Peter Gurton

Kevin Bruce Aptowicz

Characterizing individual airborne particles in real time according to their absorption of optical energy at one or more wavelengths. The instrument can measure the two-dimensional angular optical scattering (TAOS) and/or the one-dimensional angular optical scattering (ODAOS) at one or more wavelengths. When two wavelengths are used, one is chosen to be on an absorption peak, the other is off of the absorption peak (preferably in the absorption valley).

Method and instrumentation for determining absorption and morphology of individual airborne particles

A Fluorescence Particle Spectrometer (FPS) performs real-time measurement of the fluorescence spectra of aerosol particles in the size range 1-10 &#x3bc;m diameter. The FPS has a sufficiently high sample rate (estimated to be a few liters/min) to measure aerosol within buildings (from 1 up to 600 particle fluorescence spectra per minute) at practical rates. A virtual impactor first concentrates aerosol particles, which are then drawn under negative pressure through an aerodynamic focusing nozzle in the inlet of the instrument, through the sample region, providing further concentration. The rate of particle spectra measured by the FPS increases significantly when the particle inlet is within a few meters of some common sources of indoor biological particles.

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Cheshire, CT, United States of America

Yong-Le Pan