A correction algorithm for particle size distribution measurements made with the forward-scattering spectrometer probe

Abstract

Multiparticle coincidence events in the scattering volume of the forward-scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) cause the instrument to bias the measurement of the particle size distribution of atmospheric aerosols toward large diameters. We employ a probabilistic model based on Poisson statistics to determine the average diameter and rms width of the actual size distribution as functions of the average diameter and rms width of the measured distribution. We compare our predictions to a Monte Carlo simulation of the FSSP operation.