System and method for real-time measurement of aerosol particle size and chemical composition

摘要

This invention is an apparatus and method of real time determination of particle size and optionally chemical composition or both. An aerosol beam generator focuses a beam containing sample particles that passes through a sizing laser beam of approximately constant width to produce light scattering that is detected by a light detection means, allowing generation of electrical pulses that may be used to compute particle velocity. In being formed into a beam, the particles are accelerated to terminal velocities that are functions of their sizes. The duration of time elapsed while a particle passes through the width of the sizing laser beam is a function of its velocity which, in turn, is a function of its size. Chemical composition of the particle is determined by suitable analytical means included in the apparatus, such as mass spectrometry.