Fast Response Sensor for the Measurement of the Optical Properties and Carbon Content of Organic Aerosols

摘要

In the Phase I SBIR work under contract number N00244-00-P-2504, the feasibility of a prototype instrument, the aerosol vaporization spectrometer (AVS) was evaluated for the ability to classify particles by their incandescent signal. The objective is to provide real-time mass information on airborne black carbon particles. The instrument uses a diode pumped Nd:YAG laser at 1.06 microns wavelength to excite the particles. The scattering signal is monitored from all of the particles, and the black carbon particles absorb sufficient energy to incandesce, and this incandescence is measured by broadband and narrowband detectors. The work detailed in this report, conducted under the optional phase I funding is designed for an accelerated start on the Phase II developments. Two activities are taking place, the development of data acquisition software to collect and process the signals from the AVS, and optimization of the laser system for analysis of the black carbon particles.