Development and evaluation of an online monitoring single-particle optical particle counter with polarization detection

We developed a single-particle optical particle counter with polarization detection (SOPC) for the real-time measurement of the optical size and depolarization ratio (defined as the ratio of the vertical component to the parallel component of backward scattering) of atmospheric particles, the polarization ratio (DR) value can reflect the irregularity of the particles. The SOPC can detect aerosol particles with size larger than 500 nm and the maximum particle count rate reaches ∼1.8 × 10⁵ particles per liter. The SOPC uses a modulated polarization laser to measure the optical size of particles according to forward scattering signal and the DR value of the particles by backward S and P signal components. The sampling rate of the SOPC was 10⁶ #/(sec·channel), and all the raw data were processed online. The calibration curve was obtained by polystyrene latex spheres with sizes of 0.5-10 µm, and the average relative deviation of measurement was 3.96% for sub 3 µm particles. T-matrix method calculations showed that the DR value of backscatter light at 120° could describe the variations in the aspect ratio of particles in the above size range. We performed insitu observations for the evaluation of the SOPC, the mass concentration constructed by the SOPC showed good agreement with the PM_2.5 measurements in a nearby state-controlled monitoring site. This instrument could provide useful data for source appointment and regulations against air pollution.